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CRUCIFEROUS vegetables may help lower the risk of developing breast cancer, particularly for women who carry a particular gene variant linked to the disease, a new study suggests.Researchers found that among more than 6000 Chinese women, those with the highest intake of Chinese cabbage and white turnips had a somewhat lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer than those with the lowest intake.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to evidence that compounds in cruciferous vegetables may help fight cancer.

Chinese cabbage and white turnips are two cruciferous vegetables common in the Chinese diet; in Western diets, the most common cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower and kale.

The vegetables contain certain compounds that the body converts into substances called isothiocyanates, which are thought to have anti-cancer effects.

In the current study, high consumption of Chinese cabbage and white turnips was linked to a moderately lower breast cancer risk. But the apparent benefit was stronger among women who carried two copies of a particular variant of a gene called GSTP1.

Among these women, those with the highest intake of any cruciferous vegetables had about half the risk of breast cancer as those who ate the fewest, according to the researchers, led by Sang-Ah Lee of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

GSTP1 is an enzyme that helps detoxify the body of potentially cancer-causing substances. Some studies have suggested that having a particular form of the gene – the Val variant – may raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

The current study found that women who carried two copies of the Val variant did, in fact, have a higher risk of developing breast cancer before menopause than women who had other variants in the GSTP1 gene.

But the excess risk was cut substantially in those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables.

“We cautiously interpreted this as diet being a factor that may reduce the impact of genetic susceptibility in overall breast cancer risk,” Jay Fowke, one of the researchers on the work, said in a statement.

It’s possible, according to Dr Fowke and his colleagues, that people who carry two Val variants of the GSTP1 gene excrete the beneficial isothiocyanates more quickly, and eating more cruciferous vegetables helps counter this.

More research, they conclude, is needed to better understand how cruciferous vegetables might modify breast cancer risk.

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PARIS (AFP) — Geneticists have identified a super gene which causes breast cancer to metastasize, the deadly process by which the disease spreads to other organs.

Described by the U.S. researchers as a “”master regulator,”" the SATB1 gene alters the behavior of at least 1,000 other genes within tumor cells, said the study, published in the British journal Nature.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women worldwide are diagnosed each year with breast cancer, and nearly half-a-million succumb to the disease.

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A new study found that women whose breast cancer came back after treatment had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood as did women who remained cancer-free. The study was published in the March Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Assn. for Cancer Research.The finding suggests that high levels of estrogen contribute to an increased risk of cancer recurrence, just as they lead to the initial development of breast cancer, said the study’s lead author, Cheryl L. Rock, PhD, a professor in the Dept. of Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

A second study found that several risks of long-term use of combination estrogen plus progestin therapy in healthy women — including breast cancer risk — persisted for at least a few years after stopping the drugs. The study, based on data collected for the Women’s Health Initiative, was in the March 5 Journal of the American Medical Association. While risk for heart disease dropped quickly after stopping medication, risk for breast cancer, stroke and blood clots remained high.

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There’s a new, accelerated treatment option for people who have had a lumpectomy due to breast cancer.

“This particular protocol is really very exciting,” says Dr. Pradip Ganguly, division chief of radiation oncology with Eastern Health.

The new method of delivering internal radiation therapy is being introduced at the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre.

MammoSite radiation therapy delivers radiation directly to where the tumour was removed as well as to the surrounding area.

The therapy is much less invasive than full breast radiation, Ganguly explained.

“This is equivalent to going back in the surgical days, but instead of taking out the whole breast you take part of the breast,” he said.

Within two weeks of the patient’s lumpectomy, a MammoSite balloon is surgically placed inside the breast where the tumour was removed. To illustrate, Ganguly holds the small balloon-like device attached to a piece of plastic tubing. The tubing remains outside the breast, he said.

Once an ultrasound confirms that the balloon has been properly placed in the breast cavity, it is inflated to fill the area and the patient goes home.

The patient then returns as an outpatient to begin a five-day period of twice-daily treatments where a specialized piece of equipment sends radiation into the balloon.

The good news for the patient, Ganguly says, is that MammoSite radiation therapy reduces treatment from weeks to less than a week.

“This means if we have someone coming from Corner Brook, or somewhere else far off, they don’t have to stay here in the hostel or rent a place for five to six weeks,” he said.

The doctor noted that breast cancer patients are concerned about how their bodies will look after surgery and treatment.

Good cosmetic results

The breast looks almost the same after a lumpectomy as it did before, he said, and MammoSite radiation therapy also gives a good cosmetic result.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society (www.cancer.ca), breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women, with an average of 429 women diagnosed every week. About 102 Canadian women die of breast cancer each week.

Of course, not everyone with breast cancer is a suitable candidate for partial breast radiation or a lumpectomy. Factors such as age, tumour size and grade and hormone receptor status must be taken into consideration, Ganguly said.

It’s also important that the cancer hasn’t spread to lymph nodes.

Patients who meet all the criteria and who are 50 years and older may be considered for MammoSite radiation therapy. The surgeon must receive extensive training.

So far, in this province, Dr. Al Felix in St. John’s and Dr. Valerie Jefford in Corner Brook have completed training in MammoSite radiation.

“We’ve had one patient go through this so far and it went like a charm. We even had a pizza party because it went so smoothly,” Ganguly said.

Once six patients have received the treatment, the team will review the protocol before continuing with the treatment.

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