A team of researchers have identified critical complex mechanisms involved in the metastasis of deadly “triple negative” breast cancers (TNBC). These tumors are extremely difficult to treat, frequently return after remission, and are the most aggressive form of breast cancer in women. The discovery of this critical interaction of mechanisms could be used to develop new life saving treatments to kill metastatic tumors in TNBC.

Breast cancer stem cells exist in two different states and each state plays a role in how cancer spreads, according to an international collaboration of researchers. Their finding sheds new light on the process that makes cancer a deadly disease.

Researchers have examined whether a specific epigenetic modification (more specifically, methylation of the DNA) can be associated to breast cancer family history in unaffected women from high-risk breast cancer families.

A cancer-research team has identified a protein that may be a major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain.

Researchers have discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), as well as a therapy which blocks that mechanism.

In a study that included more than 800 women who had undergone surgery for breast cancer, the majority reported some level of pain 12 months after surgery, and factors associated with pain included chronic preoperative pain, chemotherapy, preoperative depression and pain in the area to be operated, according to a study.

Biologists have discovered that low oxygen conditions, which often persist inside tumors, are sufficient to initiate a molecular chain of events that transforms breast cancer cells from being rigid and stationery to mobile and invasive. Their evidence underlines the importance of hypoxia-inducible factors in promoting breast cancer metastasis.

Radiotherapy (RT) after breast conserving surgery (BCS) has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer (BC) recurrence. However, although younger women tend to have more aggressive tumors and have higher risks of recurrence than older BC patients, they are less likely to receive RT after BCS, according to a study.

A study backs preventative surgery to improve survival for women who are at greater risk of getting ovarian cancer and suggests it appears helpful for women at risk of getting breast cancer because of genetic faults.

Treatment options improve and streamline care for women with breast cancer.