Biomarker Predicts Breast Cancer Risk in Asymptomatic Women

Conversely, the frequency of ER+ or p27+ cells was inversely, but not significantly, associated with subsequent breast cancer risk. Notably, high Ki67+/low p27+ and high Ki67+/low ER+ cell frequencies were significantly associated with a five-fold higher risk of breast cancer compared with low Ki67+/low p27+ and low Ki67+/low ER+ cell frequencies, respectively, among premenopausal women.

This data suggests that the fraction of actively cycling cells in normal breast tissue may represent a marker for breast cancer risk assessment, which may therefore impact the frequency of screening procedures in at-risk women.

"Currently, we are not able to do a very good job at distinguishing women at high and low risk of breast cancer," said senior author Dr. Rulla Tamimi, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School. "By identifying women at high risk of breast cancer, we can better develop individualized screening and also target risk reducing strategies."

The study was published in the April 1, 2016, issue of the journal Cancer Research.

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