Breast cancer prevention with a political twist!

We have discussed in previous blogs the adverse effect of weight gain on breast cancer occurrence, but today I want to commend to all a New York Times article in the Personal Health section online now (www.nytimes.com).  This article: Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause, by Jane E Brody reports on a series of studies published in the scholarly peer-reviewed journal, Lancet (www.thelancet.com) in August.  Experts from Harvard's School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health and others,  report, in a series of four papers, the results of their two year study.

They list three cost-saving and health-savings measures, but I will leave you with just one.  This one measure is a tax on unhealthy foods and drinks.  It is a tough measure to sell, but cigarettes are taxed.  Such an attempt to tax sugar-sweetened beverages was recently defeated in New York State by industry pressure.  However according to their research, a 1 penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in California, alone, would bring in 1.5 billion dollars a year! Dr. Gortmaker, one of the authors, calls a tax on such beverages a "no-brainer" in the interview.  Can you imagine 2 cents or 10 cents? 

An easier way to learn your risk!

In the june 15, 2011 blog, I created a complicated model to answer the question, "What is the chance that YOU will get breast cancer?''  Now there is an easier way: BREVAGen.   A noninvasive swab of the inner cheek combined with the Gail Score identifies your personal breast cancer risk.  This new test provides a 5-year and lifetime risk by combining genetic markers and clinical factors.  The validation study was published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (online at www.jnci.oxfordjournals.org).

Genetic markers, called SNPs, associated with breast cancer were identified in genome-wide association  studies (GWAS) involving more than 50,000 women.  These common SNPs, obtained from DNA in saliva, are different from and unrelated to the BRCA 1 and 2 familial breast cancer genes that only 7% of women have.  These seven SNPs apply to many more women, particularly to those 70% of women without a family history of breast cancer.

Seven known risk factors, such as age, age at first menstrual cycle, age at first live birth, family history and biopsy history are used to generate a clinical risk in the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) called the Gail Score.

Combining this genetic information from a noninvasive buccal swab with the clinical factors in the Gail Score gives the 5-Year risk and the Lifetime risk.  The results of the test allow us to make recommendations that align with American Cancer Society (ACS) and The American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) recommendations for screening and treatment in low, intermediate and high risk individuals.  Furthermore, the BREVAGen test reclassifies 64% of intermediate Gail Scores (about 30%) to either low or high risk.


SO WE HAVE THE INFORMATION AND KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT!

Who should take the test:

• anyone who wants to know her personal risk
• anyone concerned about an elevated breast cancer risk
• high risk not qualifying for BRCA 1 & 2 testing
• negative BRCA 1 & 2 test
• intermediate Gail Risk
• anyone who has had a breast biopsy or aspiration.

Call 512-451-5788 to get yours today.