Awareness, Detection And Treatment Programs Required To Improve Breast Health Care In Pakistan

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Main Category: Breast Cancer
Article Date: 03 Aug 2012 - 1:00 PDT
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Awareness, Detection And Treatment Programs Required To Improve Breast Health Care In Pakistan

Among most women in Pakistan, there is limited awareness of breast cancer occurrence, detection, and screening practices, or the importance of self-breast exams and clinical breast exams, according to a study in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. In Pakistan, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women and the incidence is rising. It is usually diagnosed in later stages and often at a younger age compared with populations in the West.

"Breast cancer care in limited-resource countries generally suffers because of multiple obstacles, including a lack of recognition of breast health as a public health priority, a shortage of trained health care workers and social or cultural barriers. An improved understanding of existing obstacles in breast cancer care is critical to identify those factors that may be correctable and thereby devise effective interventions for improving early breast cancer detection and treatment in disadvantaged countries," said Sughra Raza, MD, co-author of the study.

Questionnaires were developed to address demographics, financial and educational levels, knowledge regarding breast cancer occurrence and treatment, and religious and cultural beliefs that may affect seeking care for breast disease. Using the questionnaires, one-on-one surveys were administered by community health workers in Karachi to 200 women and 100 general practitioners.

Survey results showed that women's knowledge of breast cancer incidence, diagnosis and treatment was proportionate to educational level, while willingness to address breast health issues and interest in early detection were high regardless of education level. Very few women had ever undergone clinical breast examinations or mammography. Among general practitioners, most understood major risk factors and importance of early detection. However, 20 percent did not believe breast cancer occurs in Pakistan, and 30 percent believed that it is a fatal disease. Female general practitioners were more likely to perform clinical breast examinations than male general practitioners.

"Although there is limited awareness regarding breast cancer occurrence, detection, and screening practices, as well as the importance of self-breast exams and clinical breast exams, the majority of women are very keen to learn more, to participate in their own care and to lower their risk," said Raza.

"Awareness and educational activities, including training female clinical health workers to perform clinical breast exams, will be beneficial, as we begin instituting awareness, detection and treatment programs in the face of a rapidly rising incidence and late-stage detection of breast cancer in Pakistan," said Raza.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our breast cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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'Awareness, Detection And Treatment Programs Required To Improve Breast Health Care In Pakistan'

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Unique Genetic Marker May Improve Detection Of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Main Category: Ovarian Cancer
Article Date: 09 Dec 2011 - 1:00 PST

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Ovarian cancer is a major health concern for women and the identification of sensitive biomarkers for early detection and/or monitoring of disease recurrence is of high clinical relevance.

New work published in the online journal PLoS ONE reports promising advances toward the development of blood-based DNA markers for ovarian cancer.

The researchers, led by Peter W. Laird of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, found that a DNA modification called "methylation" at a specific DNA site occurs frequently in ovarian tumors and can also be detected in the blood of ovarian cancer patients. This newly described methylation site was identified through a rigorous high-throughput screening process that tested over 27,000 different sites in the genome.

The epigenetic marker identified in this study was shown to have the potential to monitor disease status after surgery and might therefore prove helpful in enhancing the performance of existing biomarkers for disease recurrence.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our ovarian cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Citation: Campan M, Moffitt M, Houshdaran S, Shen H, Widschwendter M, et al. (2011) Genome-Scale Screen for DNA Methylation-Based Detection Markers for Ovarian Cancer. PLoS ONE 6(12): e28141. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028141
Financial Disclosure: This work was supported by the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, grant PPD/USC.06, and National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, grant R01-CA096958. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interest Statement: PL is a consultant and Scientific Advisory Board member for Epigenomics AG. He holds issued patents on the MethyLight technology, which have been licensed to Epigenomics AG. This work was not supported by Epigenomics AG. Epigenomics had no role in study design, data collection or analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. In addition, PL and MC are named as inventors on a pending patent application for the Digital MethyLight technology. The patents and the relationship with Epigenomics do not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors disclosed no potential competing interest.
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New Protocols Improve Detection Of MicroRNAs For Diagnosis

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Breast Cancer
Article Date: 08 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate processes including fertilization, development, and aging show promise as biomarkers of disease. They can be collected from routinely collected fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine. However, a number of factors can interfere with the accuracy of miRNA tests. In a study published online today in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, a group of researchers provide clear procedures for the collection and analysis of miRNA, significantly improving their diagnostic accuracy.

"Our study demonstrates that inherent differences in biological samples and the methods used to collect and analyze them can dramatically affect the detection and quantitation of microRNAs," reports lead investigator Dominik M. Duelli, PhD, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. "We developed measures to overcome the interfering activities and improved the sensitivity of miRNA detection up to 30-fold."

Over 1,000 miRNAs exist in the human body. Deregulation of specific miRNAs is associated with disease. Measuring the amount of miRNAs in body fluids can aid in the diagnosis of disease or conditions such as pregnancy. Dr. Duelli and his colleagues quantified two miRNAs: miR-16, which acts as a tumor suppressor and is deregulated or lost in some cancers, including breast cancer; and miR-223, which has been implicated in pregnancy and other conditions, as well as in some malignant diseases.

"A fundamental challenge to making microRNA diagnostics broadly available has been the inability to isolate enough high quality material to analyze. Our paper outlines ways of effectively collecting blood plasma samples, thus bringing us one step closer to the goal of making [miRNA] disease diagnostics a reality," adds co-investigator Sarah Linnstaedt, PhD, of Duke University.

The authors found that the choice of blood collection tube affects quantitation. Traditional green-top heparin tubes interfered nearly completely with miRNA detection. Grey-top tubes containing the anticoagulant sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate (NaF/KOx) provided the best results. Although miR-16 is about 500 times more abundant in blood plasma than miR-223, the results for both were similar, indicating that the differences in detection resulting from the choice of collection method apply to other miRNAs. Furthermore, collection of miR-223 in serum yielded more variable results, signifying that for some miRNAs, analysis of blood in plasma form is preferred.

The study indicated that natural components of blood plasma co-purify with miRNAs, interfering with their detection. The authors identified extra steps in purification, and the ideal dilution level, to reduce the interference. "Although counterintuitive, by reducing the starting material, inhibitors were presumed to be diluted below a threshold of interference. Careful titration of starting material yields more accurate miRNA quantitation," explains Dr. Duelli. In another approach, the authors avoided the problem of contamination by combining an enzyme that overcomes plasma inhibitors with standard enzymes to increase the sensitivity of miRNA detection by about 30-fold.

Finally, the authors observed that differences in plasma composition among individual donors yield different miRNA measurements. "These results raise the possibility that factors including diet, exercise, circadian rhythms, and seasons, which alter the blood chemistry, might affect miRNA detection and quantitation," says Dr. Duelli.

"The implications of this work are that without consideration of the variables we have identified, miRNA quantitation of human samples may not be reliable for the purpose of biomarker development. We provide approaches that enable faithful quantitation of miRNA abundance in body fluid," concludes Dr. Duelli.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our medical devices / diagnostics section for the latest news on this subject. The article is "Plasma Components Affect Accuracy of Circulating Cancer-Related MicroRNA Quantitation," by D-J. Kim, S. Linnstaedt, J. Palma, J. Cheol Park, E. Ntrivalas, J.Y.H. Kwak-Kim, A. Gilman-Sachs, K. Beaman, M.L. Hastings, J.N. Martin, and D.M. Duelli (doi: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2011.09.002). Published online ahead of its issue, the study will appear in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, Volume 14, Issue 1 (January 2012) published by Elsevier.
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