Young Women's Breast Cancer Research Program
Summary
The purpose of this study is to identify novel genetic factors which distinguish breast cancer in younger women compared to older women. By identifying these novel genetic factors we believe more specific therapies can be developed and breast cancer may be prevented among women with an increased cancer risk. A woman does not have to live in St. Louis to participate.
Description
Breast cancer takes its greatest toll on younger women, as it is the leading category of cancer deaths for women 20-39 years of age. Sadly, survival rates are lowest among women diagnosed at a young age. This impact is most significant among African-American women who have the highest incidence and mortality rate among women less than 45 years of age. The goal of our program is to identify the genetic factors which distinguish breast cancer in younger women compared to older women.
Women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer 40 years of age or younger are invited to participate. The age at diagnosis is used to determine eligibility, not a woman's current age. Women who have undergone genetic testing of the BRCA1, BRCA2, p53, pTEN, e-cadherin, or LKB1 genes are eligible to participate. Young women with breast cancer are asked to: sign a consent form, submit a sample of blood, release their cancer related records, and answer some family history questions.
We will use a family based case control approach in our analysis. As such, if a woman's parents are living, they will be invited to participate as a "comparison" group. The parents are asked to: sign a consent form, submit a sample of blood, and release any cancer records.
A woman does not have to live in St. Louis to participate. All study related materials can be mailed directly to the young woman or her parents. There is no expense to the family. All materials are kept strictly confidential and participation is completely voluntary.
Study Design
Observational Model: Family-Based, Time Perspective: Prospective
Conditions
Invasive Breast Cancer
Location
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis
Missouri
United States
63110
Status
Recruiting
Source
Washington University School of Medicine
Results (where available)
Links
- Source: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00276120
- Information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov on July 15, 2010
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Carcinoma, Lobular
A infiltrating (invasive) breast cancer, relatively uncommon, accounting for only 5%-10% of breast tumors in most series. It is often an area of ill-defined thickening in the breast, in contrast to the dominant lump characteristic of ductal carcinoma. It is typically composed of small cells in a linear arrangement with a tendency to grow around ducts and lobules. There is likelihood of axillary nodal involvement with metastasis to meningeal and serosal surfaces. (DeVita Jr et al., Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology, 3d ed, p1205)
Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms
Metastatic breast cancer characterized by EDEMA and ERYTHEMA of the affected breast due to LYMPHATIC METASTASIS and eventual obstruction of LYMPHATIC VESSELS by the cancer cells.
Mucin-1
Carbohydrate antigen elevated in patients with tumors of the breast, ovary, lung, and prostate as well as other disorders. The mucin is expressed normally by most glandular epithelia but shows particularly increased expression in the breast at lactation and in malignancy. It is thus an established serum marker for breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms
Tumors or cancer of the human BREAST.
Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast
An invasive (infiltrating) CARCINOMA of the mammary ductal system (MAMMARY GLANDS) in the human BREAST.
Clinical Trials
Feasibility of Pre-Surgical Intervention Studies for Evaluating Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of a short term administration of a targeted therapy (i.e., anastrozole) in women with newly diagnosed early invasive or non invas...
RATIONALE: Questionnaires that assess symptoms caused by cancer and cancer therapy may help improve the ability to plan treatment for patients with invasive cancer to help them live longer...
RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells and may be a less invasive treatment and cause fewer side effects than complete axillary lymph node dissection. I...
RATIONALE: Understanding the relationship between breast density, levels of hormones in the blood, and levels of anticancer drugs in the blood may help improve the ability to plan effectiv...
RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Radiation to the tumor site and surrounding area may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known if radiation the...
PubMed Articles
Recent advances in non-invasive axillary staging for breast cancer.
Nodal staging in breast cancer is a key predictor of prognosis and directs subsequent adjuvant therapy. This article addresses current modalities of nodal staging in breast cancer but focuses on promi...
The overexpression of metallothionein-2A (MT-2A) is frequently observed in invasive human breast tumors and has been linked with more aggressive breast cancers. MT-2A overexpression led to the inducti...
BACKGROUND: Recently, the desmoplastic reaction has been implicated as having an important function in epithelial solid tumor biology. There have been no reports showing the relativity of invasive bre...
No evidence for an association of human papillomavirus and breast carcinoma.
Breast cancer represents a serious public health problem worldwide, for its high incidence, morbidity, mortality, and its high cost treatment. It is known that breast cancer is a multifactorial diseas...
Diagnosis of breast cancer by tissue analysis.
In this paper, we propose a technique to locate abnormal growth of cells in breast tissue and suggest further pathological test, when require. We compare normal breast tissue with malignant invasive b...
