Introduction
Breast Cancer is on the forefront of modern tumor research and scientists are continually seeking new ways to treat and prevent cancer progression. Current treatments using hormone-dependent drugs like Tamoxifen and Raloxifene focus on estrogen receptor inhibition in mammary and endometrial cell lines. The estrogen receptor is heavily targeted in breast cancer treatment because it is easy to inhibit has strong affinity for binding to many molecules mimicking the estrogen hormone - inducing cell proliferation in the breast and endometrium. Estrogen receptor drugs are known as selective-estrogen receptor modulators or SERMS, which are effective in estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) and hormone-estrogen receptor 2 positive (HER2+)
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It is suspected that F-Ren is desensitized at older ages in women (Veronesi, 1999). During high periods of cell proliferation in the mammary and endometrium in women, i.e menstrual cycle and pregnancy, there is an increased chance of developing a mutation that will produce a cancer cell. When women reach menopause and stop producing as much hormones (like estrogen) that interact with those sites – it may deter F-Ren from inducing apoptosis. F-Ren might, therefore, be stunted or aided by hormones in breast carcinogenesis based on age (Veronesi, …show more content…
Combination therapy with a SERM and retinoid functions more efficiently than either alone in combatting IGF-1 induction of tumor proliferation and secondary tumor progression. Specific inductions by F-Ren on apoptotic activators and increased oxidative stress produced by F-Ren and Tamoxifen, which works against hormone-related cell proliferation, together create a synergistic and effective treatment for breast cancer patients. With successful in vivo and in vitro studies, graduating the complex to clinical trials with relatively low side effects, is a great sign in the future of a possibly new technique in treating a broad range of breast cancer
..., t. t. (n.d.). Menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy Use and Cancer - National Cancer Institute. Comprehensive Cancer Information - National Cancer Institute. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/menopausal-hormones/print
The endocrine system is very dynamic and has ties to most, if not all of the other major systems of the body. It is responsible for production of hormones and the regulation of them as well. These hormones act as chemical messengers within the body. Through several differing mechanisms, they are able to trigger very specific responses in target cells or organs. This is what enables the endocrine system to guide growth, development, reproduction, and behavior, among many others as well.
At this point in time, scientists and doctors have yet to discover the specific causes for breast cancer. However, what is known are the different risk factors that may trigger or put women more at danger of acquiring this disease. Aged women who have experienced menopause are more vulnerable at containing this disease. Women are also more at risk if breast cancer is common within their family because it is hereditary. In addition, smoking and drinking are other factors that can put women at risk as well (Stephan, 2010). Obesity in particular is a huge risk factor. Women who are overweight, especially those who have a thicker upper body, are more likely to develop malignant cancers in the breast than a healthy woman (Vona-Davis and Rose, 2009).
Breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed in Stage I and Stage II, where the size of the tumor is less than five centimeters in diameter. In these situations, surgery is often the second treatment option after chemotherapy and radiation therapy, both of which are used to shrink the tumor to a manageable size first. If the patient chooses to, the ...
In 1896 the scientist Beatson reported that the removal of the ovaries resulted in the reduction of breast cancer tumours (Russo and Irma 1998). Breast cancer is a malignant, metastasizing cancer of the mammary gland. It is the leading cause of death in woman between the ages of 35 - 45. Breast cancer can also occur in males, although less frequent, around 400 men die each year from breast cancer in the united states. (Martini, F., 2004). Studies on rats have shown considerable evidence that rat oestrogens are mammary carcinogens. Oestrogens have shown to stimulate the hormone prolactin. Through studies involving the use of antioestrogens, for example, tamoxifen, "Tamoxifen alone or in combination with the retina all trans-N-(4 hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide (4-HPR) reduces the incidence of NMU-induced mammary tumours in Sprague-Dawley rats." (Jane M. Ussher Ph.D. 1996). This suggests that Oestrogens and Prolactin's can have the effect of the development of breast cancer since the pathogenesis of spontaneous breast cancer in humans is similar to that of chemical-induced rodent mammary cancer. (Jane M. Ussher
Women who started menstruation before age 12 and/or go through menopause later in life have an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
Many breast cancers are sensitive to the hormone estrogen. Thus estrogen leads to development of breast cancer tumor formation. Such cancers have cell surface receptors for estrogen. They are called ER-positive cancer or estrogen receptor-positive cancer.
Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a genetic X-linked recessive disorder where affected males have mostly female sex characteristics or signs of both male and female sexual development. Individuals with this condition are genetically male; they contain both an X and Y chromosome (Barbaro et al., 2007). Mutations in the androgen receptor gene are what cause androgen insensitivity syndrome in individuals. This gene produces androgen receptors which are important to males. Without this receptor androgen will not be supplied to the body and that is a major hormone males need. Other names used in place of AIS are as follows; Testicular Feminization Syndrome (TFM), Androgen Receptor Deficiency, Androgen Resistance Syndrome, AR Deficiency, Dihydrotestosterone Receptor Deficiency, and DHTR Deficiency (OMIM, 2012). Androgen insensitivity syndrome can be considered as complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, or mild androgen insensitivity syndrome.
Some risk factors cannot be changed such as age, race, and gender. A person 's risk increases as they get older. Approximately 1 out of 8 women are at risk of developing breast cancer are younger than 55. Approximately 2 out of 3 women are at risk of developing breast cancer who are older than 55 (American Cancer Society, 2014). To decrease this rate, women need more timely follow ups and access to high quality treatments (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Men can develop breast cancer, but this disease is more common among women than men. (American Cancer Society, 2015).
During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and abnormalities in newborns.
Jose MD, and Irma Russo, MD, "Susceptibility of the Mammary Gland to Carcinogenesis. Pregnancy Interruption as a Risk Factor in Tumor Incidence," The American Journal of Pathology, Aug. 1980
As defined by Majure, breast cancer is an “uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells” (Majure: 110). It is also one of the cancers that women fear the most. Not only do women get diagnosed with breast cancer, men do too. However, it isn't as bad, or as common, in men as it is in women so doctors don’t recommend screening for men. In the U.S more than one thousand men get affected by breast cancer every year and about two hundred thousand women are affected by breast cancer every year. Women are most likely to get diagnosed with it in their forties and fifties while some may be diagnosed with breast cancer in their twenties, if they started their menstrual cycles at an early age like 14. Typically, men are diagnosed with breast cancer in their sixties or seventies.
A research was held for young and older women. Two drugs were administered to treat breast cancer. Epirubicin and gemcitabine are two chemotherapy drugs used on the patients. The research came back with astonishing results. The Young and older women had a positive reaction to the drugs. Dr. Feher’s research shows the drug to be safe enough for young women and the older generation to treat breast cancer (Dockter & Keene, 2009).
Uterine cancer is an important women health problem developing rapidly, killing over 200,000 women each year. No one has discovered the actual cause, but there is a leading factor that has great suspicions to what is causing this cancer to grow rapidly.