September 26, 2012

About Breast Cancer: New Genetic Info to Improve Treatments

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From Pam Stephan, your Guide to Breast Cancer
Personalized cancer treatment may depend on what we know about genes and how they influence tumors and their growth and spread. Now scientists have made a breast cancer breakthrough.

Breast Cancer Falls Into Four Genetic Types
We usually divide breast tumors into hormone sensitive, protein type, or triple-negative. Those divisions help determine treatment options. But down the road, the four basic genetic types may help scientists provide targeted, customized treatments that fight this beast more effectively.
See More About:  breast cancer  diagnosis  genetic testing

Do You Need Genetic Testing?
I was diagnosed 10 years ago, and nobody mentioned genetic testing. I'm sure it would have been interesting, but at that point my choice of drugs and surgery would have been the standard selections. Nowadays things are getting more precise, but we still have a ways to go. Genetic testing is leading us into that future.

HER2/neu and Diagnosis
Although "HER2" sounds like a classy fashion label, it actually stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Herceptin is the drug that shrinks and targets HER2 breast cancers. The HER2 protein is one of the four genetic types of breast cancer.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Triple Negative Breast Cancer - TNBC - is another genetic subtype that may be treated more successfully now that scientists know more about how it resembles a certain variation of ovarian cancer. TNBC has been difficult to treat, but having this new genetic info is opening doors that may pull the rug out from under these resistant cancer types.

 


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Pam Stephan
Breast Cancer Guide
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