Breast cancer is the most common among women. In Spain, about 22,000 cases are diagnosed each year – in most of them, those affected are between 45 and 65 years old; It is estimated that 12% of Spanish women will suffer from it at some point -, which represents just over 28% of all female tumors, according to data from the Spanish Association against Cancer. Treatment and screening tests have improved dramatically in recent decades. This last aspect is especially important, as it will largely determine the chances of cure. The specialists at the MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid indicate that these can be 100% if the disease is diagnosed in time.
Until now, the most widely used technique to prevent this disease has been mammography, which is sometimes complemented by ultrasound and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the breast. Sometimes other minimally invasive tests are also done, such as punctures or biopsies. However, a new system called Brecanrisk, which combines genetic analysis and imaging studies , could facilitate this process and even favor individualized and tailored prevention for each patient.
Detection of risk cases
In a statement, the Spanish biomedical group ASCIRES, which has promoted this project, points out that the procedure allows women to be classified according to their risk of suffering from breast cancer. To do this, a bioinformatic algorithm is used that filters and analyzes the information collected through three tests: a mammogram, the woman’s medical history – a specially designed test allows us to know the personal factors that may influence her predisposition to develop a tumor – and your genetic information – DNA analysis is carried out from a blood sample.
“This method will help us detect the group of high-risk women, which would give us a great advantage in their monitoring and personalized treatment,” says Javier Benítez, Brecanrisk scientific advisor and director of the Human Cancer Genetics Program of the National Center of Oncological Investigations. In addition to this institution, the National Genotyping Center, the Valencia University Clinical Hospital, the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness and the Health Research Institute have collaborated in this initiative.
In the aforementioned report, it is also pointed out that this approach will improve breast cancer screening programs ; its integration into the health system would allow a single genetic test to be carried out at an early age, which would have a beneficial impact on health. “Brecanrisk considers both genetic and non-genetic factors and breast image analysis. With this method, the woman could know what her risk of developing this type of cancer would be ”, indicates Benítez. This would greatly affect the way you track it. “In the medium term, perhaps there is no reason to do biannual mammograms for all women from 45 years of age; genetics do not change throughout life, “he explains.
