As one of the most common malignant tumors among women, breast cancer accounts for 7-10% of all malignant tumors in the whole body, second only to uterine cancer, and has become a killer of women's health. And its incidence rate is increasing year by year at a gradually younger trend.

 

Do you really understand breast cancer?

 

On the evening of April 12th, in the live broadcast room of "Sharing the Viewpoints of Famous Doctors" of the 4th "Co-construction & Sharing for the Health of All" Action, Jian Liu, director of the Breast Oncology Department of Fujian Cancer Hospital, popularized common sense for the public about what breast cancer is and how to prevent and treat it scientifically.

 

 

Breast cancer has become the world's most common cancer.

 

According to the latest global cancer data for 2020 released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, the number of new breast cancer cases worldwide reached 2.26 million in 2020, surpassing lung cancer for the first time and becoming the most common cancer in the world.

 

In 2020, the number of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in women worldwide accounted for 24.5% of all cancers, and the number of deaths accounted for 15.5%, both ranking first.

 

 

So, what are the reasons for the increase in the incidence of breast cancer?

 

Director Jian Liu mentioned that with the change in living habits, due to the intake of high-fat, high-protein, high-calorie foods, changes in the pace of life, the extension of life expectancy, environmental pollution, pesticide residues, staying up late and other factors, the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing in recent years.

 

What are the common breast diseases?

 

Clinically, breast diseases are divided into mammary gland hyperplasia, fibroadenoma of breast, mastitis, mammary cysts, and breast cancer.

 

In the introduction of "Common Types of Breast Diseases", Director Jian Liu explained that mammary gland hyperplasia is the most common breast disease, and its incidence is increasing year by year at a younger age. It accounts for 70%-80% of women, and it may occur after the beginning of puberty. But 95% of the cases are simple hyperplasia and require no special treatment; 5% are atypical hyperplasia, which may be precancerous lesions.

 

In the early stage of breast cancer, it is a painless single small mass, with mass shadow, roughness, and unclear boundary, and it is mostly discovered accidentally. In the late stage, it adheres to the skin, and the local skin appears sunken, orange peel-like, and the nipple retracts.

 

Clinically, the classification standard of breast cancer adopts the TNM method for staging, which is determined by the results of various preoperative examinations, including the first diagnosis of breast cancer, mammography, B-ultrasound, magnetic resonance, and CT.

 

 

 

 

The ultrasound BI-RADS grading standard can be used for a preliminary judgment of breast tumors based on the size of the tumor, whether the edges are smooth, whether there are ultrasound image features such as blood supply and calcification in the tumor, and whether abnormally enlarged lymph nodes are found in the axillary examination.

 

How can breast cancer be prevented?

 

Can breast cancer be prevented, and how to prevent it in life?

 

 

Director Jian Liu suggested that breast screening should be done once every year between the age of 25 and 40. Breast self-examination is a preliminary examination of breasts by women themselves, which can detect breast lesions in time.

 

After one week of menstrual period, women can perform six-step self-examination for breast lumps in front of the mirror:

 

 

If women find secretions, lumps or skin abnormalities during the self-examination, they should pay attention and seek medical treatment in time.

 

To prevent breast cancer in daily life, women should pay attention to adjusting their daily diet, exercise and emotions, maintain an optimistic attitude towards life, maintain adequate sleep, and avoid staying up late to maintain endocrine stability. It is recommended that women over the age of 40 undergo breast examination and screening every year to achieve early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment.

 

Live Q&A

 

1. I was found to have a lump in my left breast during the physical examination, which was diagnosed as breast cancer. I had a total mastectomy. Do I need chemotherapy?

 

We are now entering the precise treatment of breast cancer, which can be divided into four types. Chemotherapy or targeted therapy is recommended according to the specific pathological conditions.

 

2. I am often in a bad mood in my daily life. Will this increase the risk of breast cancer?

 

In the survey, we found that people with busy work, stress, staying up late, and high anxiety are more likely to develop breast cancer. Bad emotions can affect the endocrine system, and the occurrence of breast cancer is closely related to the hormones in the body. It is recommended that you maintain a good mood in your daily life and reduce the frequency of anger.

 

Ganoderma lucidum enhances the effect of the chemotherapy drug carboplatin on breast cancer and cancer stem cells.

 

According to a study published in the American Journal of Cancer Research in March 2022 by a group of scholars from the Central University of the Caribbean in Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico and the New York University School of Medicine, Ganoderma lucidum can not only improve the carboplatin's cancer-killing effect and tumor-suppressing effect on "inflammatory breast cancer" and "triple-negative breast cancer" but also reduce the proportion of cancer stem cells in the overall cancer cells.

 

The researchers first implanted inflammatory breast cancer cell lines into the mammary tissue of female mice, and after the tissue grew tumors, they started feeding GLE (28 mg/kg per day) until the end of the experiment while injecting carboplatin weekly (30 mg/kg per dose) for 3 consecutive weeks. As a result, in mice that ate Ganoderma lucidum and were injected with carboplatin, the tumor growth rate was slower and the tumor size was smaller.

 

In this study, it has been observed that Ganoderma lucidum can delay or prevent the initiation of DNA repair mechanisms and reduce the production of DNA repair proteins. These effects undoubtedly gain more time and space for chemotherapy drugs to kill cancer cells. 

 

These data come from the article "Research and New Knowledge︱Ganoderma lucidum can enhance the effect of chemotherapy drug carboplatin on breast cancer and cancer stem cells" written by Tingyao Wu.