For the LUMC research women who were being screened for breast cancer by conventional methods were also asked to provide a blood sample. A blood test was used to look for indications that could ‘indicate’ the onset or presence of breast cancer at an early stage. The first results of the TESTBREAST study were promising and attracted international attention, especially after the presentation of those results at a breast cancer conference. “It really exploded then. From Brazil to America, we were in the newspapers everywhere,” says Wilma Mesker, research leader at the Department of Surgery.
Blood test screening
In addition to a faster diagnosis, the blood test has another advantage. Many women who are hereditary with the so-called ‘breast cancer gene’ are screened every year. This is done with a mammogram or an MRI scan. Both methods also have their drawbacks. For example, a mammogram is sometimes skipped because the radiation can also cause harm. And an MRI is a relatively expensive and time-consuming method. Screening by means of a relatively simple blood test would mean that breast cancer risk groups can be screened more easily and, if necessary, more often.
Research leader Wilma Mesker and PhD student Sophie Hagenaars have already found six proteins that may indicate early development of breast cancer. “By measuring protein levels at different times, we can identify small changes in these levels per individual that occurred 1 to 2 years before diagnosis,” Mesker said.
The six proteins that have been found so far will be further evaluated and validated in a larger group of participants in the coming period. This should hopefully show that these proteins, and in particular the change in their blood values, are predictive for breast cancer.
Motivated participants
In the 35 years that Wilma Mesker has been researching cancer, she has rarely seen such a motivated patient group as before the TESTBREAST study. “The women we approach are very benevolent. They are very driven to advance breast cancer research, even though they may not benefit from the result themselves, they are doing it for their children,” says Mesker.
The LUMC is not the only healthcare institution where researchers are working on new methods to diagnose breast cancer more quickly using a blood test. A similar study is underway in the UK, with comparable promising results. The ‘British blood test’ turned out to be able to detect five percent more cases of breast cancer than the proven mammogram method.
