Blood biomarkers and breast cancer detection
Focusing on research related to breast cancer risk during the pandemic is especially important as one in three women have delayed mammograms due to COVID-19, according to a new study.1 Including biomarkers in the conversation about cancer risk can be beneficial as they have come to be helpful in the detection of breast cancer over the years.2 A biomarker is defined by the National Cancer Institute as a molecule found in the blood that is a sign of whether or not your body is functioning normally or abnormally.3 A biomarker can also be a sign of a condition or disease, such as breast cancer, which is the focus of the Monson et al. publication.
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) are biomarkers that have been previously associated with breast cancer in women of average risk. In this study, the authors were interested in whether these biomarkers could also predict risk in women with a family history of breast cancer. They conducted a nested case-control study within the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry, a cohort that includes relatives with a family history of breast and ovarian cancer. The researchers followed a group of women without breast cancer at entry into the study and identified 80 invasive breast cancer cases and 156 controls, matched to cases on age, ethnicity, and follow-up time. They collected blood samples for participants at baseline and measured IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 biomarkers in stored plasma to estimate the association between IGF levels and breast cancer risk. They also calculated each woman’s 10-year absolute risk of breast cancer, using a previously validated risk model, and compared the biomarker levels in high versus low risk breast cancer risk women.
The study found that breast cancer risk generally increased as IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels increased. The study also found that women at high risk based on family history of breast cancer and with elevated IGF biomarker levels had a more than 3-fold higher risk, compared to women with lower risk from family history and lower IGF biomarkers. These results suggest that family history may be an important variable to consider when conducting biomarkers studies. The study data lend some support that blood biomarkers like IGF may be useful in predicting breast cancer risk, but additional future studies with larger numbers of women with a family history of breast cancer need to take place.
1. Black, S. (2020, October 01). 30% of Women Say They Have Delayed Mammograms Due to COVID-19, 45% Tell SurvivorNet They're Now More Nervous About Going to the Doctor. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.survivornet.com/articles/30-of-women-say-they-have-delayed-mammograms-due-to-covid-19-45-tell-survivornet-theyre-now-more-nervous-about-going-to-the-doctor/
2. BioSpace. (2020, October 26). Cancer Biomarkers Market: Rising Research on Cancer to Encourage Market Growth. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.biospace.com/article/cancer-biomarkers-market-rising-research-on-cancer-to-encourage-market-growth/
3. NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms. (n.d.). Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/biomarker
Reference:
Monson KR, Goldberg M, Wu HC, Santella RM, Chung WK, Terry MB. Circulation growth factor concentrations and breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study of IGF-1, iGFBP-3, and breast cancer in a family-based cohort. Br Cancer Res 2020, Oct. 222:109.