Researchers have found evidence that changes in the amount of certain proteins in the blood can potentially predict breast cancer for up to two years. Such early detection could significantly improve survival rates for women at high risk for breast cancer.
Using long-term monitoring, a Dutch research team has discovered six biomarkers in the blood of women at high risk for breast cancer, whose levels rise or fall a year or two before diagnosis. Some proteins changed in individual women over time, while others generally differed in amounts between healthy women and women with breast cancer. Sophie Hagenaars, PhD student at Leiden University Medical Center, told the European Breast Cancer Conference: ‘These proteins could serve as the basis for a blood test for early detection of breast cancer in high-risk women. Such tests would an addition to existing screening techniques. Blood tests are not a major procedure, so women could be offered screening as often as needed.”
The research team examined 30 blood samples. These were from three women with and three women without breast cancer from the TESTBREAST study, which began in 2011. Currently 1174 women are participating who are at a high risk of breast cancer due to their hereditary factors or their family history. Women donate blood at least once a year when they go for a checkup. Additional samples are taken from anyone who develops breast cancer at the time of diagnosis. The levels of various proteins in the women’s blood were monitored using mass spectrometry. The researchers now want to confirm the findings using a larger group of women with and without breast cancer.
