Is it possible to prevent breast cancer metastasis?

Study reveals how blood vessels in the bone marrow protect dormant tumor cells, suggests a way to kill them in their sleep

Antioxidant supplementation and breast cancer prognosis in postmenopausal women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy

(The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, nqy223, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy223 Published:21 January 2019)

ABSTRACT

Background

There is a paucity of information on the prevalence of dietary supplement use in breast cancer survivors. Only a few studies have examined the impact of dietary supplements, particularly antioxidants, on breast cancer prognosis and the results are inconclusive.

Objective

We examined pre- and postdiagnosis use of supplements in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors in Germany and investigated associations between postdiagnosis use of antioxidants and other supplements, and prognosis (total and breast cancer mortality, and recurrence-free survival) both overall and in women who received chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Design

Data from 2223 postmenopausal women diagnosed with nonmetastatic breast cancer from the population-based Mamma Carcinoma Risk Factor Investigation (MARIE) study were used. Women were interviewed at recruitment in 2002–2005 and again in 2009 and followed-up until 30 June 2015. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to estimate HRs and corresponding 95% CIs.

Results

Pre- and postdiagnosis supplement use was reported by 36% and 45% of the women, respectively. There were 240 deaths (134 from breast cancer) and 200 breast cancer recurrences after a median follow-up time of 6.0 y after the 2009 re-interview. After adjusting for relevant confounders, concurrent antioxidant use with chemotherapy or radiation therapy among 1940 women was associated with increased risk of total mortality (HR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.66) and worsened recurrence-free survival (HR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.26, 2.68). Overall postdiagnosis supplement use was not associated with breast cancer prognosis.

Conclusions

Antioxidant use during chemotherapy or radiation therapy was associated with worsened breast cancer prognosis in postmenopausal women. There was no overall association between postdiagnosis supplement use and breast cancer prognosis. Results from our study align with the current recommendation to possibly avoid the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

marijen Hope this true but I'll believe it when I see it

They are taking the "throw everything in to kill the cancer once and for all" approach. Some MOs would do that but the risk is that if/when the cancer returns, it may be untreatable. Others MOs rather use the drugs one by one to try and extend the life of the patient knowing that eventually, the cancer does not respond to further treatments.

As others stated, if this is really a cure (like cure for HIV as mentioned) and cost less than current treatments, that's be super awesome!

Correct, that's the view point of the MO who believe it is better to throw everything at the cancer. And also the reason that some drug combo are much more effective when used together instead of alone.

The Modern Tradgedy of Fake Cancer Cure

By MATTHEW HERPER @matthewherper

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

So it happened again. An underreported story about a half-baked advance in cancer medicine caught fire and scorched its way through social media, onto network TV, and into the minds of millions of people.

To start, no. There won't be "a complete cure for cancer" in a year's time, as the chairman of a small Israeli biotechnology firm predicted to the Jerusalem Post. The claim, absurd on its face, was particularly frustrating to those who work in medicine and drug development because it seemed so obvious there was not enough evidence to make it.

It doesn't take a lot of complicated biology to understand why. You simply need the information contained in the Jerusalem Post's article: that the data available so far are from a single study in mice and that they have not been published in a scientific journal.

Saying that most experiments in mice don't translate to human beings doesn't quite get the point across. It's more correct to say that almost none of them do.

According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the odds of a medicine being tested in human beings proving safe and effective enough for widespread use are just 1 in 10. Another analysis by MIT economists gives slightly better odds, of 1 in 7. But both groups agree that the chances of success for cancer drugs are far worse than the norm: 1 in 20, according to BIO, and 1 in 30 according to the otherwise more optimistic MIT group.

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Stated another way, up to 97 percent of cancer drugs fail. What's more, the Israeli company, Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies Ltd. (AEBi), is at an earlier stage in the development of its drug, a point at which its odds are still lower. The Jerusalem Post article says that the company has finished its first experiment in mice, but that it hopes to begin clinical trials that could be completed in a few years.

Another useful number on experience and speed: Loxo Oncology, which is being purchased by Eli Lilly for $8 billion, got its first medicine from mouse studies to approval quickly. Quickly, in this case, is five years.

If you have this background, the original quotes in the Jerusalem Post article sound like an entrepreneur trying to get attention for a technology he believes in. The Jerusalem Post quotes Dan Aridor, the chairman of AEBi, as saying: "Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market. Our solution will be both generic and personal." Plenty of entrepreneurs hope that. But reality is very, very hard. In another interview with The Times of Israel, the company's chief executive gave somewhat less enthusiastic quotes.

That shouldn't mask the fantastic progress being made with cancer drugs. A simple example: Jimmy Carter, the humanitarian and former U.S. president, is alive thanks in large part to a drug called Keytruda, made by Merck, that primes the immune system to attack tumors.

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But part of the problem is that even in cases like Carter's, this amazing progress comes with complications. Not everyone has such an amazing response to these cutting-edge treatments. In first-line melanoma, a quarter of patients who get the drug will still die. But in such a hard-to-treat disease, that's a great result.

Life is complicated, and so are cancer treatments. Cancer is older than human beings. Scientists have found dinosaurs with metastatic tumors. It's simply not likely we're going to outsmart all cancers with a single treatment, without drawbacks.

That's the seductive message that sold here, though. It's what Glenn Beck tweeted: "A TOTAL cure for cancer. Cheap, quick, no side effects." It's what led the Drudge Report to link to the story, saying: "Israeli Scientists Think They Found Cancer Cure…" It's what led to coverage on myriad other news sources, including local news.

Jonathan Swift noted that a lie can traverse the world while the truth limps behind it 300 years ago. In the age of social media, the problem seems as though it has gotten worse: think the rise of Theranos, or believing that Jack Andraka's high school science fair project was a breakthrough. In medicine, this kind of virality means false hopes, dashed dreams, and a whole lot of hype. We are desperate for a solution.

Yes, this was a shocker, one of the worst for a long while.

To quote the author:

If the Jerusalem Post and other news outlets that carried the story had looked beyond their quest for hype, the headline would have been "A theory that might lead to a curative therapy for some cancer patients perhaps in the next decade."

Long-Term Incidence of A-Fib Increased in Women With Breast Cancer

HealthDay News — Women with breast cancer have an increased long-term incidence of atrial fibrillation(AF), according to a study published online January 28 in Heart Rhythm.

Maria D'Souza, MD, from Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev-Gentofte in Denmark, and colleagues estimated the long-term incidence of AF in patients with breast cancer identified from 1998 to 2015 using nationwide registries. A total of 74,155 female patients with breast cancer were matched with 222,465 patients from the background population by age and sex.

The researchers observed a correlation for breast cancer with incident AF; the correlation varied between age groups and follow-up time periods. Breast cancer was associated with an increased incidence of AF during the first 6 months and from 6 months to 3 years for patients younger than 60 years (hazard ratios, 2.1 [95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 3.44] and 1.8 [95% confidence interval, 1.38 to 2.35], respectively). Breast cancer was not associated with an increased incidence of AF during the first 6 months but was associated with an increased incidence from 6 months to 3 years for patients older than 60 years (hazard ratios, 1.13 [95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.34] and 1.14 [95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.25], respectively).

"Our findings should encourage doctors to focus on the risk of AF in patients with recent breast cancer in order to diagnose and treat as early as possible," D'Souza said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

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Glad to help MinusTwo. I have a sign in and not a professional. They just want to know who’s reading - patient, researcher, whatever. It’s free.