Statins are a widely prescribed, effective cholesterol-lowering drug. The statins are pleiotropic agents, and, after an early study of patients with coronary heart disease showed a lower than expected incidence of cancers, preclinical studies were carried out that have supported the potential anticancer activity of these compounds. However, clinical reports on the relationship between statin use and breast cancer risk have yielded mixed results, with no association and both positive and negative associations being observed.

A recent investigation set out to examine the associations between the potency, duration, and type of statin used and invasive breast cancer risk among women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). A secondary objective was to assess the association between use of other lipid-lowering agents and breast cancer.

The WHI includes an observational study (n = 93,676) and clinical trials (n = 68,132) of hormone therapy, dietary modification, and/or calcium and vitamin D supplementation in postmenopausal women of many races and ethnicities. Subjects were aged 50 yrs to 79 yrs and were postmenopausal. This analysis included women enrolled in the observational study and clinical trial components of the WHI, excluding those who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer or who had used tamoxifen or any selective estrogen receptor modulator. The final sample included 88,322 women enrolled in the observational study and 68,029 women enrolled in the clinical trials (156,351 women total).

Subjects were asked to bring all current prescription medications to their first screening interview. Women reported duration of use for each medication. Current medication use was updated at the year 3 clinic visit. Current statin use was defined as use of any 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Statins were further classified as hydrophobic (lovastatin, simvastatin, and fluvastatin) or other (pravastatin and atorvastatin) and by potency: low (fluvastatin and lovastatin), medium (pravastatin), and high (simvastatin and atorvastatin).

Medical history was updated annually or semiannually. For women in the clinical trial components of the WHI, the frequency of clinical breast examination and mammography was protocol defined (annually for women in the hormone trials and biennially for women in the diary trial). Clinical breast examination and mammography were not protocol defined for women in the observational study. Only invasive breast cancer cases confirmed by adjudication were included in the analysis. Information on all covariates was collected at study entry.

Overall, it appears that statin use is not associated with invasive breast cancer. The finding that use of hydrophobic statins may be associated with lower breast cancer incidence suggests possible within-class differences that may warrant further investigation.

Women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation are 9 to 36 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women without the mutation, and 6 to 61 times more likely to develop ovarian cancer. But to assess the degree of increased ovarian cancer risk in women with a family history of breast cancer who do not carry the genetic mutation, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center followed 199 families with a strong family history of breast cancer but who were BRCA mutation-negative.

Forty months (equivalent to 2,534 years of follow-up) after genetic testing to determine their BRCA status, only one case of ovarian cancer was diagnosed, considered normal for women at average risk. But 19 new cases of breast cancer were found, when only six were anticipated. "The study was actually designed to look at these women's subsequent risk of ovarian cancer, which was not elevated compared to women in the general population," explains lead author Noah D. Kauff, MD. "The fact that these women had a three-fold higher risk of breast cancer than women in the general population was not surprising, as the women in our study were selected from inherited breast cancer families." But the research provides the first prospective evidence that women with a strong family history of breast cancer who do not have the genetic mutation are not at increased risk for ovarian cancer. "These results need to be confirmed in a larger study with longer follow-up," says Dr. Kauff. "If they are confirmed, it will allow for (re-)tailoring of ovarian cancer risk-reduction strategies for women with a family history of breast cancer but with no identifiable BRCA mutation." The study appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Women who survive breast cancer aren't completely out of the woods, according to a recent article in the International Journal of Cancer. The multicenter study included cancer data from 13 population-based registries in Europe, Australia, Canada and Singapore. More than 525,000 women diagnosed with a primary breast cancer between 1943 and 2000 were studied to see if, when, and what kind of second primary cancer they developed.

Their risk of a second primary breast cancer was also evaluated. The majority of women were postmenopausal at diagnosis. Thirty percent of the women had their breast cancers confirmed after 1990; 47 percent were diagnosed during 1975 to 1990 and 23 percent prior to 1975. In reviewing the results, the authors noted that because the participants were diagnosed and treated over a long period "when treatment has varied greatly," the observed pattern of second cancer may be different from women currently undergoing treatment. That's important to understand in that the study found a 25 percent increase in the risk of developing a new primary nonbreast cancer in women diagnosed with a first primary breast cancer compared with women who were cancer-free. They also noted that the elevated risk of cancers in the vicinity of the breast such as esophagus, lung, thyroid gland, stomach and soft tissue sarcomas of thorax and upper limb and leukemia may be due to radiation exposure, and that risk estimates decreased after 1975 possibly as a result of improved radiation techniques. Even so, the researchers observed that "the known effects of treatment and common risk factors do not seem to fully explain" the increase in subsequent second cancers. Women in the study had elevated risk for stomach, colorectal, lung, endometrial, ovarian, renal, and thyroid cancers, as well non-melanoma skin cancer, leukemia, and soft tissue sarcoma. Odds of developing a second cancer increased over time from diagnosis; women who were older when the disease was confirmed had a lesser risk of a new malignancy.

Unlike other illnesses, breast cancer is not actually caused by any specific factor. In fact, it is actually caused by the a host of different factors that often interact with each other. Breast cancer occurs when some cells in the breasts start to abnormally grow and spread to other tissues of the body. These cells are the ones that we call tumor cells. Contrary to popular opinion, not all tumors cause cancer. There are tumors that are actually benign and therefore cannot spread to the other parts of the body. These are not fatal. Malignant tumors however are the ones that grow and invade other tissue cells in the body. Ducts and glands are their primary targets.

Unknown to many, there are actually different kinds of breast cancer. Understanding each one can help you make sense of this condition that has claimed more than 40,000 lives in the United States alone and is the second leading cause of cancer death in the country after lung cancer. Here are some of the types and their descriptions:

Carcinoma in situ
This is the term that is often used for early stage cancer, especially when it is confined to a specific place where it first began. For instance, as mentioned before, breast cancer often starts at ducts and lobules. Carcinoma is used if the abnormal cells have not yet spread to other parts of the breast and has only remained at the root location. This is actually considered the stage 0 in breast cancer staging. Although this increases the risk of developing breast cancer in the future, this is actually not considered as already a breast cancer.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
The most common form of non-invasive breast cancer, DCIS is a term that is used to define cancer cells that have remained in the ducts and have not yet spread through its wall. This means that the fatty tissues that surround the breast have not been affected. Among the types of breast cancer, this is the most curable. In fact, most women with this condition get cured, perhaps because the cells are concentrated in just one area of the body.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
Although not really breast cancer in the strictest sense, the lobular carcinoma in situ or LCIS for short should still be a cause of alarm as this problem can increase the risk of women getting cancer later in life. The condition is actually caused by the fact that the milk-making glands of the body do not get through the lobule walls.

Infiltrating (invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC)
This is the most common form of breast cancer, accounting for about 80 percent of all invasive breast cancer cases. Often, cancerous cells starts in the milk passages and go through the ducts, breaks in the walls of walls of the ducts and spreads to the other parts of the breasts. If not detected and treated early, this kind of breast cancer can easily spread to the other parts of the body.

Infiltrating (invasive) lobular carcinoma (ILC)
Unlike the IDC, the infiltrating lobular carcinoma starts at the lobules instead of the ducts. The movement of the cancer cells are also the same. It goes through the passages and when left undetected and treated, can actually invade other cells in other parts of the body. This however is not as common, accounting for only 10 percent of the invasive breast cancer cases.

Jenny is a 42 year old mother of three. Being a housewife is quite easy especially when the kids are at school and the husband is at work. The rest of the day is spent cleaning the house and doing the laundry with an hour to spare at the local gym.

After taking a shower, Jenny felt some pain the breast. This could be just menopause symptom so there was no need to worry. The pain got worse the next few days and sensing this was something else, finally decided to visit the doctor.

The doctor was a family friend. The initial diagnosis was done by touching the breast followed by a scan using a mammogram.

There were a lot of cancer cells present so another test had to be done. The doctor had to be sure so a sample was extracted and sent to a pathologist for analysis. After testing, it was only then that a woman’s greatest fear has become a reality. Jenny was diagnosed with breast cancer and this was already on the 3rd stage.

The third stage means the cancer has grown to more than 5 cm. in size and has spread to other parts of the body. This leaves removing the breast useless since the disease can no longer be contained.

Can there still be hope for Jenny who is already in the advanced stage of breast cancer? The truth is, the chances of recovery are very difficult.

Being informed of breast cancer is a shocking experience. There were some initial signs of disbelief then acceptance. The doctor explained everything to Jenny including the treatments available and the survival rates.

This was going to be Jenny’s greatest battle and this was just the beginning of a long struggle.

Chemotherapy was the best option now. The drugs produced some side effects like nausea and skin rashes but Jenny just thought this was short term since there is something bigger growing inside the needed to be killed.

Both Jenny and the doctor went ahead with removing the breast with a procedure called a mastectomy. Since modern medicine can have this reconstructed, this was a small price to pay. To make sure that all the cells had been wiped out, radiation therapy followed.

Jenny was happy to hear that the cancer was gone nearly a year after the diagnosis was done. Some people say this was a miracle since the battle which had taken so much was finally won. There was a huge party and everyone who prayed and supported were there to celebrate a second chance at life.

The doctor pointed out that the cancer can recur. This is the reason that Jenny still had to visit the clinic often for therapy and tests to make sure everything was wiped out.

Advanced breast cancer is sometimes hard to tell. A self examination at home is not enough which is why the patient should go to the doctor for a checkup once or twice a year.

There are a lot of people who die of breast cancer and a significant number are also diagnosed every year. The person can fight hard like Jenny did or simply give up to the disease.

Until a cure is found, the only thing people can do is work on the options and hope that a miracle will happen.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women today. Among the types of cancer that are being experienced by women, breast cancer comes second after lung cancer, claiming the lives of more than 40,000 women in the country.

By the end of this year, more than 200,000 women are predicted to develop invasive breast cancer in the United States alone. Right now, statistics put a 1 is to 8 possibility ratio of developing breast cancer on women. There is about a 1 out of 28 chance that the breast cancer diagnosis will lead to death. Fortunately, because of the efforts of women’s groups to increase the awareness about the problem and the efforts of the government to address the issue, death rates are actually going down.

Risk factors for breast cancer

It is actually not known exactly why women develop breast cancer. Unlike other health problems that are rooted from a bacterial or viral infection, breast cancer is not caused by any organism. The problem only occurs when cells in the breasts begin to grow out of control and start to spread even to the other tissues in the body.

But while there are no exact known cause of breast cancer, there are some risk factors that increases the chance of some women to develop the condition. This is according to numerous studies that have correlated the presence of these factors to the occurrence of the condition. Although there are some factors that are already inherent in you, there are some who you still can do something about. Those factors have been the focus of women’s groups informational campaign, designed to teach women how best to prevent the problem from developing.

Factors that you cannot change

One of these risk factors is gender. Surprised? Unknown to many, breast cancer also occur in men. There however have been considerable emphases on women breast cancer in recent years because of the alarming growth of cases every year. One’s age is another factor. As one grows old, the higher is the chance that one will develop breast cancer. The same goes with people, who already have a family history of the problem. In fact, studies have shown that people with relatives with breast cancer actually doubles their risk for developing it.

Women who have gotten their periods early, before they were 12 years old and those who menopaused after they were 50 are also at risk for developing the condition.

Compared to Asian women, Caucasians seem to develop the problem more often. The same was also found with women who never had children or those who had children after they 30 years old. Women who had radiation therapy in the chest area are also at risk.

Factors that you can change

It is not of course all bad news. While there are factors that are beyond our control, there are things that we can do to lessen the chance of developing the condition. Breast cancer can actually be prevented by cliché as it is eating right and living healthy.

According to studies, women who drink about two to five alcoholic drinks every day seem to have an increased rate of developing breast cancer. The same was also found with women who are overweight and those who do not exercise regularly. People who take birth control pills and those that underwent some sort of hormone-replacement therapy will also develop the problem.