Currently, patients need to take a mammogram to detect whether they have breast cancer or not. Though this has proven to be 75% accurate, mammograms can only detect cancer after the patient has developed the condition. But long-term breast cancer research recently revealed wonderful news: a simple test can predict development of the medical condition 5 years before cancer develops!
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have observed 57,000 participants for over 20 years. Their blood samples and other relevant information were taken.
Out of these participants, 800 women were selected and split into two groups: the healthy women and those who developed breast cancer within 7 years after their blood samples were taken. Then, the researchers created their metabolic profiles and their blood samples were compared.
Of the test subjects who participated in the study, the researchers found out they had accurately predicted 80% of the cases of those who developed breast cancer based on the blood test they used to create the metabolic profiles. Though far from being perfect, the method is significantly better than the only other option available today: mammogram which is accurate only by around 75%.
Still, the researchers are feeling optimistic that the method can be perfected and will soon be available in the market for people to be able to determine whether they are likely to develop breast cancer within 5 years after taking the test.
Now, if you think that’s not going to do the person any good, remember that cancers are best treated in the early stages (1 and 2) where prognosis is known to be quite high compared to patients whose cancers were detected in stages 3 and 4.
Facts about Breast Cancer
It mostly affects women but men can also develop the condition. Based on worldwide statistics, it is 100 times more common in women than in men.
It is also more common in developed countries; though researches have not yet pinpointed why this is the case. Still, prognosis is better in developed countries, with 80 to 90% of those in the US and England alive for at least 5 years after developing breast cancer, within the so-called five-year survival rate.
Based on statistics recorded in 2012, there were 1.68 million cases of breast cancer and the condition caused 522,000 deaths that year alone.
There are different kinds of breast cancer treatments, including surgery which could include mastectomy (removal of whole breast), medication such as chemotherapy and hormone blocking therapy, and radiation therapy.
Breast cancer research has come a long way, allowing us to better understand breast cancer and find new ways of prevention and treatment. Let’s cross our fingers that the researchers will be able to make the advanced test more accurate and ready for the market so it could save countless lives in the future.
