New test shows if DCIS breast cancer will spread

Conclusion This research used tumour cells from 532 women to show ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cells with raised levels of integrin αvβ6 were linked to the progression and recurrence of invasive breast cancer later in life. In addition, laboratory investigations also confirmed integrin αvβ6 had tumour-promoting properties and suggested a biological mechanism to inhibit breast cancer growth linked to this molecule.  Currently breast tissue samples of women with DCIS are routinely taken to assess the biology of the early stage tumour. The implication of this research is that levels of integrin αvβ6 could be measured at this stage and used to predict which tumours are likely to progress to invasive breast cancer and which aren’t, potentially avoiding unnecessary surgical and radiological treatment in some women. The study is certainly a big step forward in understanding DCIS, but a usable test that could reliably sort women into those that will get breast cancer and those that won’t still appears some way off as the test is far from perfect. For example, elevated integrin αvβ6 levels were still found in between 52% and 69% of DCIS cases that did not go on to become invasive breast cancer. It was higher in those that did go on to develop invasive breast cancer (between 87% and 96%) but was not 100%. This is problematic because any test based on results like this would mean at least 4-13% of the women with DCIS would be given an all clear result, but would la...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medical practice Source Type: news