Mammograms could be replaced by breast milk and blood tests in the future, according to revelations made by a group of researchers from Clarckson University in their recent presentation at the Society's annual meeting American School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology during the Experimental Biology (EB) 2022 meeting, which was held in early April in Philadelphia.
The research team included Costel Darie and Sumona Mondal from Clarkson University as collaborators, Kathleen Arcaro and Brian Pentecost from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and David Fenyo of the New York University School of Medicine.
In a small study, researchers identified protein biomarkers for breast cancer using breast milk, a discovery they believe is the first step towards developing a simple blood test to evaluate patients more quickly and easily. The specialists found that between the two sets of samples, there were 23 proteins that differed and all of them were proteins that had previously been linked to cancer or tumor development.
Isolating biomarkers to look for them is a possibility that brings closer to the development of a blood test that could easily be taken to detect breast cancer, the researchers said in their presentation.
“While mammograms are a useful tool for detecting breast cancer early, they are generally not recommended for low-risk women under 40,” said Danielle Whitham, a doctoral candidate at Clarkson University in New York, lead author of the research and in charge of presenting the paper. at the Philadelphia-meeting. Because the biomarkers we find in breast milk are also detectable in the blood serum, tests could be performed on women of any age using blood or breast milk.”
It is well known that when it comes to fighting cancer, early identification is key to a greater likelihood of defeating the disease. “If our future studies are successful, it could change the way women are monitored for breast cancer and help with an earlier possible diagnosis,” Whitham suggested.
“This could even lead to a higher survival rate for women.” To isolate proteins, the researchers broke down the ions in breast milk into fragments using a process called tandem mass spectrometry, which allows scientists to see the chemical structures that make up the substance.
In women with breast cancer, they located 23 proteins that were dysregulated, which means that there were unexpected changes in the way the body synthesized those proteins, which caused changes in cell structure. Previous research has found that dysregulated proteins are a sign of several conditions, including cancer.
“We use breast milk because it contains protein, epithelial and immune cells, all of which provide a wealth of information about what is going on in a woman's body during a crucial time in breast development,” Whitham said. The set of biomarkers identified by specialists only applies to one type of breast cancer - invasive ductal carcinoma (CDI), which is one of the most common types.
But researchers believe that as they do more research, they might discover more biomarkers for other types of breast cancer. The next step is to replicate your results with a larger group of participants to confirm the biomarkers and the other conclusions observed.
If protein biomarkers are confirmed in a larger study, researchers will analyze these findings in the blood serum to begin the journey towards a standardized blood test that could change the screening process for breast cancer in the relatively near future.
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