Why Do Some Women Develop Breast Cancer Earlier Than Others?

Research currently underway at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and CINJ-Hamilton, which may unlock the mysteries of why some women develop breast cancer at an earlier age than others, has been expanded to include more healthy volunteers than previously sought. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

According to state health statistics, roughly 13 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer in New Jersey are younger than age 45, while nearly half of the women diagnosed with the disease and seen at CINJ are not yet 50. Investigators hope to shed light on these figures through an ongoing clinical trial whose goal is to identify genetic markers for the disease. By including larger numbers of healthy women in the study, the researchers hope to pinpoint genetic differences between women who develop breast cancer and those who don’t.

It was recently discovered in the laboratories of CINJ member Arnold J. Levine, PhD, professor of pediatrics and biochemistry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and CINJ medical oncologist Kim M. Hirshfield, MD, PhD, that some genes may be associated with increased risk of developing breast cancer, while others may actually protect against the development of the disease. These same gene variations may also play a role in breast cancer outcomes.

Dr. Hirshfield, who also is an assistant professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is the lead investigator of the current study: “If we are able to identify these slight variations, we can learn more about how breast cancer develops and its outcomes. This information could one day lead to more tailored treatment for those with the disease and perhaps even better prevention methods and screening recommendations.” She notes the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risk factors, and that only five to ten percent of breast cancers are actually caused by changes or mutations in known breast cancer genes.

Study participants will have blood drawn for laboratory analysis. The sample will be used to obtain blood cells as well as DNA, the material that makes up a person’s genes. Facts about one’s breast health and overall medical history will be documented. Both the blood sample and the clinical information will be analyzed and saved for possible future use.

Investigators are looking for more than 3,000 participants to complete the study. Women and men aged 18 or older with no history of breast cancer, with a diagnosis of breast cancer, or a breast abnormality indicating increased risk for development of breast cancer are eligible to take part in the trial, although other criteria must be met. For more information on how to take part, individuals should call the study team at 732-235-7428.

Clinical trials, often called cancer research studies, test new treatments and new ways of using existing treatments for cancer. At CINJ, researchers use these studies to answer questions about how a treatment affects the human body and to make sure it is safe and effective. There are several types of clinical trials currently underway at CINJ, including those that diagnose, treat, prevent, and manage symptoms of cancer. Many treatments used today, whether drugs or vaccines; ways to do surgery or give radiation therapy; or combinations of treatments, are the results of past clinical trials.