Taking you through my Journey
to bring much awareness to
Breast Cancer
and that Early
Detection is key to survival.
I promise
"I promise, Suzy... Even if it takes the rest of my life." -Nancy G. Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure
What is TNBC
WHAT IS TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER?
Just in recent years, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) has sparked interest in the news where instead of calling the tumor as ER-negative, PR-negative, and HER2-negative; researchers began using the shorthand term, "Triple Negative," dubbed the "new type" of breast cancer. Being Triple Negative, you don't have a targeted therapy and your only treatment option is chemotherapy.
Triple Negative Breast Cancer is seen in about 15% of all breast cancers. TNBC is a very aggressive cancer that tends to strike younger women, pre-menopause, especially among African-American women and women who have BRCA1 mutations. The tumor tends to be fast growing and is less likely to show up on an annual mammogram. TNBC is more likely to metastasis early on; has a high rate of recurrence in the first 2-3 years from diagnosis and has a poorer prognosis than other types of breast cancer due to lack of specific, targeted treatment for TNBC.
Here are some slides I photographed on Triple Negative Breast Cancer of Dr. Lisa Newman's talk at Komen of Northwest Ohio's Power of the Promise Reception on April 30, 2015. Dr. Newman has been doing extensive research the past several years on Triple Negative Breast Cancer in African Ancestry and results showing a possible connection with an inherited gene.
Fewer systemic therapy options for TNBC
Younger age!
Need more African-American women in clinical studies
Early Detection is Critical in TNBC Survival!
Is African ancestry associated with a hertitable gene for TNBC?
Triple Negative Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of
breast cancer, affects women of African descent 3 times more than
Caucasians or Hispanics
What is Triple Negative Breast Cancer? Triple
negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15-20 percent of all breast
cancers and by definition, lacks the three receptors that fuel most
breast cancers: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and human
epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The lack of receptors
complicates therapy options because many of the targeted breast cancer
therapies are directed at these three receptors. Even when a
chemotherapy regimen is appropriate, TNBC is often more aggressive than
other types of breast cancer. Initially, the tumor responds well to
chemotherapy but is more likely to relapse and metastasize. How Does Triple Negative Breast Cancer Affect African American Women? Research
shows that TNBC affects certain populations of women more than others;
it is more common in African American women, younger women, and women
who carry a BRCA1 gene mutation. Women of African descent are up to
three times more likely than Caucasian or Hispanic women to be diagnosed
with TNBC. In addition, TNBC in African American women tends to be
more aggressive, is diagnosed at a later stage, and carries poorer
survival outcomes compared to Caucasian women. How is Komen Addressing the Problem?
Komen
has awarded more than 90 research grants totaling more than $66 million
looking into the causes and treatments for TNBC since it was identified
as a distinct subtype in 2006. Of these, 11 grants focus specifically
on TNBC in African American women, representing $14.5 million of Komen’s
research investment. Two of these grants are Promise grants. One is
defining the molecular differences among breast cancer stem cells in
Black African, African American, and Caucasian women with TNBC and will
then test new drugs that target the breast cancer stem cells as a
potential therapy for TNBC. The other aims to enhance the efficacy of
chemotherapy in TNBC and basal-like breast cancer by targeting immune
cells. Other funded research projects focus on:
Understanding the biology of TNBC and how it develops/progresses, including the connection between BRCA1 and TNBC
Understanding the role of health disparities in TNBC, particularly in African American and African populations
Discovering biomarkers to help diagnose TNBC or predict risk, prognosis, or response to therapies
Developing strategies for preventing TNBC including chemoprevention
and ways of mimicking an early pregnancy and/or breastfeeding
Developing and improving preclinical models of TNBC
Studying the genes and factors that contribute to the spread of TNBC to lungs, liver, brain, and bone
Developing new and more effective therapies for TNBC
Developing strategies to increase TNBC susceptibility to existing chemotherapies
Komen is dedicated to sponsoring research that will identify the
treatments and advancing the science to move closer to our goal: a world
without breast cancer. Through the dedication and hard work of these
researchers, we are making advances to fight triple negative breast
cancer in the African American population.
On May 25, 2013, I had the pleasure of attending the National African American Breast Cancer Conference tour in Detroit, MI hosted by Sisters Network, Inc. Detroit Chapter and met Dr. Lisa Newman whom I always admired her research in TNBC. Dr. Lisa Newman is a highly respectable oncology doctor specializing in research of Triple Negative Breast Cancer in African Ancestry. I have been following for about 2 years now, Dr. Lisa's research and journey to Ghana, Africa trying to find the correlation of TNBC in African-american and africans of Ghana. I, myself try to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible on TNBC so I can better understand this dreadful disease. Thank you Sisters Network, Dr. Lisa Newman and Dr. Thomas M. Flake Jr. for organizing this very informative breast cancer conference, I have gained a wealth of insight from your presentation. Please see below a schedule of the 2013 conference tour. Also, below are some notes I took at the conference.
Sisters Network ladies, Dr. Thomas Flake and Dr. Lisa Newman on the far right
Notes from the Conference with Dr. Lisa Newman, University of Michigan on Triple Negative Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer deaths decreasing
Cannot predict progression or pattern (ex. lungs, liver, brain or bones)
Management of Breast Cancer 1) Removing tumor 2) Entire breast must treat 3) Node must be staged - Indicator of progression to other parts of body. Triple Negative Breast Cancer:
TNBC- 80% of Basil-like
Medullary carcinoma - more favorable results
Average breast cancer age 60, TNBC- 5-10 years younger
TNBC and survival- Early Detection is CRITICAL!
Parp
Cannot prevent TNBC at this time
Multiple pregnancy increase TNBC
Bilateral mastectomy does not improve survival!
TNBC in African-American - Does it have a mutation like BRCA?
TNBC - 16% white, 26% african-american, 82% Ghana
TNBC - expressed highly in Africa
African-american has lower WBC, results in delay or decrease in chemotherapy which could have effect on survival.
More likely to be invisible on mammogram
Markers - Stem Cell
ALPH-1 expression - predictor of poor clinical outcome
EZH2 protein - expressed in invasive carcinoma cells
BRCA referrals:
Also look at extended family
Younger than age 40 diagnosis
TNBC Dx - usually age 50-60
Don't know all the mutations
Negative test - Still unknown mutations detected
Taking care of you
Fatty intake - low
Stay active
Better breast care monitoring
Drink more water - get toxins out of the body
Notes from the Conference with Dr. Thomas M. Flake Jr. MD. F.A.C.S on Advanced Breast Cancer:
Any tumor greater 5cm attach to skin or chest wall is considered advanced
Sisters Network Inc. is the only National African American Breast Cancer Survivorship Organization.
Mission
Sisters Network Inc. is committed to increasing local and national attention to the devastating impact that breast cancer has in the African American community.
"Only 10 to 20 percent of breast cancers are triple negative, but black women are twice as likely as white women to develop it. And women under 40 are twice as likely to get this type sub-type..."
Raise awareness about triple negative breast cancer (tnbc)
Description
Dr. Flippin is an african american doctor who was diagnosed with tnbc 9/2010. She has no family history of cancer and had never heard specifically of tnbc prior to her diagnosis. There is a drastic health disparity in under served and under represented communities and tnbc is no different. This led to her drive and desire to bring awareness about tnbc to these communities; consequently, FLIPPIN
TO A CURE was birthed.
Flippin to A CURE - MISSION: TO HELP WOMEN GOING THROUGH BREAST CANCER TREATMENT OBTAIN THE ASSISTANCE THEY NEED TO FOCUS ON THE JOB OF HEALING VERSES THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO THEIR FAMILIES. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flippin-to-A-CURE/243059232383740 (Click to link)
Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center plans tin 2013 to expand efforts to Kenya in search of answers to Triple Negative Breast Cancer in women of African descent. http://komentissuebank.iu.edu/ (Click to link) "The Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) is the world’s only biobank, collecting healthy, normal breast tissue which is then shared with researchers across the globe. Komen’s new half-million dollar grant sets the stage for the Tissue Bank to conduct a first-of-its-kind tissue collection in Kenya, gathering normal breast tissue (as well as matched serum, plasma and DNA) from 200 Kenyan donors. This tissue also will be available to researchers globally." http://blog.komen.org/?p=2392 (Click link to full story)
"LaTonia Taliaferro-Smith, PhD, a researcher at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University is working hard in finding a cure for cancer. Eight women in her husband's family have been diagnosed with breast cancer. She specializes on triple negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects black women and Latino women."
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/30/2448753/researcher-takes-her-breast-cancer.html#storylink=rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/30/2448753/researcher-takes-her-breast-cancer.html#storylink=rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy
"We are very interested in looking at whether or not African ancestry in and of itself might actually predispose women to a biologically more aggressive form of breast cancer, such as the triple negative breast cancer."
Sixty percent of Ghanaian women who have breast cancer have triple negative breast cancer, according to Newman.
"Western sub-Saharan Africa is an important geographic location to focus on because that's where many of the slave colonies were located several hundred years ago," says Newman.
"The study, published in Cancer, finds women in Ghana are more likely than American women to test negative for each of the three markers. Among women with breast cancer the largest percentage testing triple negative were the African women -- 82 percent -- followed by African-American women -- 26 percent -- and white American women -- 16 percent."
In a recent study, it suggests that testing on how the body's cells consume and breakdown sugar that activate cancerous insulin signaling pathways in Triple Negative Breast Cancer, may give researchers insight in detecting and preventing this cancer. These studies revealed that young women that are prone to develop gestational diabetes and prediabetes, where the body produces increased sugar, may fuel precancerous cells, turning them into cancerous cells. This condition can be controlled through exercise, weight loss and diabetes drugs. “One of the hallmarks of really aggressive cancers is that they start taking sugar, breaking it down and turning it into energy,” she said. “It becomes their primary source of energy and that allows the cancer cells to grow rapidly.” http://www.aacr.org/home/public--media/aacr-in-the-news.aspx?d=2457 (Click link for full story)
