Prophylaxis and Early Detection for Breast Cancer

Abstract: Breast cancer is steadily increasing in number in Japan due to less child bearing, less breast-feeding, and more westernization of life style than ever. Cancer registration in Osaka reported the incidence of breast cancer in 1996 to 1998 to be 41.1/100,000, four-times higher than the value in 1966-1968. Avoiding overweight, animal fat intake and mental stresses is a basic and easy measure for prevention of breast cancer. A unique study performed in Japan shows that daily intake of 10 or more cups of green tea inhibits development of breast cancer. A large-scale study by National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) revealed that 5-year tamoxifen administration to high-risk women decreased the incidence of breast cancer to 1/2 of the value for control women. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is most effectively achieved by fine needle aspiration cytology if the tumor is palpable with joint work with capable cytologists. More recently, stereo-tactic biopsy devices are available for non-palpable lesions. Mammography is more frequently used in mass screening system though its essential merit is yet to be investigated

Accuracy assessment methods of tissue marker clip placement after 11-gauge vacuum-assisted stereotactic breast biopsy: comparison of measurements using direct and conventional methods

BACKGROUND:　 The objective of the study was to compare direct measurement with a conventional method for evaluation of clip placement in stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (ST-VAB) and to evaluate the accuracy of clip placement using the direct method.　 METHODS:　 Accuracy of clip placement was assessed by measuring the distance from a residual calcification of a targeted calcification clustered to a clip on a mammogram after ST-VAB. Distances in the craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) views were measured in 28 subjects with mammograms recorded twice or more after ST-VAB. The difference in the distance between the first and second measurements was defined as the reproducibility and was compared with that from a conventional method using a mask system with overlap of transparent film on the mammogram. The 3D clip-to-calcification distance was measured using the direct method in 71 subjects.　 RESULTS:　 The reproducibility of the direct method was higher than that of the conventional method in CC and MLO views (P = 0.002, P < 0.001). The median 3D clip-to-calcification distance was 2.8 mm, with an interquartile range of 2.0-4.8 mm and a range of 1.1-36.3 mm.　 CONCLUSION:　 The direct method used in this study was more accurate than the conventional method, and gave a median 3D distance of 2.8 mm between the calcification and clip

RB1CC1 Together with RB1 and p53 Predicts Long-Term Survival in Japanese Breast Cancer Patients

RB1-inducible coiled-coil 1 (RB1CC1) plays a significant role in the enhancement of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (RB1) pathway and is involved in breast cancer development. However, RB1CC1's role in clinical progression of breast cancer has not yet been evaluated, so, as a first step, it is necessary to establish its usefulness as a tool to evaluate breast cancer patients. In this report, we have analyzed the correlation between abnormalities in the RB1CC1 pathway and long-term prognosis, because disease-specific death in later periods (>5 years) of the disease is a serious problem in breast cancer. Breast cancer tissues from a large cohort in Japan were evaluated by conventional immunohistochemical methods for the presence of the molecules involved in the RB1CC1 pathway, including RB1CC1, RB1, p53, and other well-known prognostic markers for breast cancer, such as estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The correlation between the immunohistochemical results and clinical outcomes of 323 breast cancer patients was analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier log-rank test and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Absence of nuclear RB1CC1 expression was associated with the worst prognosis (Log-rank test, Chi-Square value = 17.462, p<0.0001). Dysfunction of either one of RB1CC1, RB1, or p53 was associated with the highest risk for cancer-specific death, especially related to survival lasting more than 5 years (multivariate Cox proportional hazard ratio = 3.951, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.566–9.967, p = 0.0036). Our present data demonstrate that the combined evaluation of RB1CC1, RB1 and p53 by conventional immunohistochemical analysis provides an accurate prediction of the long-term prognoses of breast cancer patients, which can be carried out as a routine clinical examination