Better look at ‘abnormal’ cells after screening
Medical science is advancing rapidly. We asked Jelle Wesseling, head of the Pathology department at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek/Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam and professor of breast cancer pathology at the LUMC in Leiden, about the latest developments in breast cancer.
It happens to more than a thousand women every year: they participate in the population screening for breast cancer and the result is that ‘abnormal’ cells have been found. These cells are known to physicians as ‘Ductal Carcinoma In Situ’, DCIS for short. The question then is: do you opt for a treatment or not? In one in four women, these abnormal cells develop into breast cancer. Not three out of four. These women undergo surgery or radiation for nothing, with all the associated risks and disadvantages. A diabolical dilemma. “Many women with DCIS do not want to run the risk and seek treatment,” says Wesseling. “But in retrospect, we don’t know whether that was really necessary for someone.”
New scientific research has been published about these abnormal cells, explains Wesseling. With hopeful results. Because thanks to this new research, doctors can better estimate who will get breast cancer because of the abnormal cells and who will not. Wesseling estimates that doctors could spare more than a thousand women the burden of surgery and radiation for harmless DCIS.
Two proteins
Wesseling: “Two proteins have been found. If these proteins are present in high concentrations in the abnormal cells, the risk of breast cancer is clearly increased. However, the risk is very small if the proteins are hardly present.”
When can we expect this new test? Not yet, because it hasn’t been tested well enough yet. Wesseling is working hard on the research, together with a large group of scientists. What can you do in the meantime if the doctor tells you that abnormal cells have been found? Wesseling: “If DCIS has been found, you can try to find out whether you qualify for a scientific study in one of the 35 participating hospitals. Do realize that the translation from science to practice has yet to take place. That could take five to ten years.”
This article appeared in the magazine Plus Magazine January 2020. Want to subscribe to Plus Magazine? Becoming a subscriber is done in no time!
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
