By Ani GASPARYAN

New research and technology have made breast cancer one of the most treatable cancers, according to experts.

Breast cancer can form when abnormal cells in the breast grow uncontrollably and is one of the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer among American women. Women in the United States, on average, have a 12% risk of getting the disease in their lifetime.

Maria Nelson, a breast surgical oncologist at USC-Verdugo Hills Hospital, said that during the last five to 10 years treatment for breast cancer has become more individualized and less invasive.

“Not everyone is getting chemo. There are newer treatments that include immune therapy,” she said. “It’s much more targeted [treatment] for the types of cancers that women are [experiencing]; it’s not just a one size fits all.”

According to Cancer Research, immunotherapy is a new type of treatment that uses people’s own immune systems to treat breast cancer. Clinical studies have shown that this approach can have a promising outcome for breast cancer patients.

Updated technologies are also having an impact in treating breast cancer and are being used at cancer treatment centers. More screening facilities are using three-dimensional mammography machines to check for breast cancer.

“The current technology is the two-dimensional [machine]. The facilities are kind of gradually, in the next five to 10 years, all upgrading to the 3D machines,” Nelson said. “3D just means that they’re able to take a series of pictures through the breast, providing more detail.” 

As a medical professional in the area of oncology, Nelson said 3D machines make it easier to detect subtle changes in the breast.

There are several ongoing studies concerning 2D verses 3D value as well when women should begin getting mammograms and when they should stop getting them.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital compared mammograms from two groups of women in a recent study. In the study, 15,019 women with the average age of 73-years-old had 2D mammograms between March 2008 and February 2011 while 20,646 women with an average age of 72 were given 3D mammograms from January 2013 to December 2015.

Their findings, which were published on April 2 in the journal Radiology, found the women who had 3D mammograms had fewer false positives. False positive is a mammogram that shows there is cancer when in fact there is no cancer in the breast.

According to breastcancer.org, the study’s lead author Manisha Bahl, M.D. stated that the study found mammograms perform well in older women, with “high cancer detection rates and low false-positives, and that [3D mammograms] lead to even better performance than conventional 2D mammography.”

Researchers are expanding their knowledge on what is known about breast cancer. Several ongoing studies are examining how genetics and lifestyle habits affect the risk of contracting the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

Medicines that might lower the risk of getting breast cancer are also being studied, such as estrogen blocking and non-hormonal drugs.

Currently, the Mayo Clinic is holding a clinical trial on a breast cancer vaccine. However, the research is still in its early stages and might take several years before it is available to use.

Nelson said older women have the highest risk of getting breast cancer.

“With every decade of life, the risk can increase,” she said.

She added that, in some families, there’s a history of women who have breast cancer and that might mean there’s some kind of genetic link that is predisposing future generations to the disease.

“For those women, it’s important to get them tested to see if that’s the case, because then they’re risking more than a 12% chance of getting breast cancer,” she said. 

Symptoms of breast cancer in women include a lump in the breast, skin changes like dimpling or redness, inverted nipples and bloody nipples. While men are less likely to get breast cancer – they have a 1% chance of contracting the disease – they can also show these symptoms.

“Men can get a mammogram but society doesn’t stress that,” Nelson said. “So men would be looking for physical changes.”

Nelson said she recommends women aged 40 and over get a mammogram every year. If they are at a higher risk of getting breast cancer, they should talk with their doctor about how often they should get checked.

The earlier patients are diagnosed with breast cancer, the higher the likelihood  is of survival. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, if breast cancer is diagnosed in its early stages women have a 99% chance of living at least another five years. Breast cancer is the most treatable form of cancer, according to Medical News Today.

“I think breast (cancer) is really a forerunner compared to other solid organ cancers [in which] we have a lot of research happening and a lot of advancements,” Nelson said. She added that some women treat the disease more like a chronic illness that they’re managing but living a fairly normal life.

  Ani GASPARYAN