A team from the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has confirmed that breast milk from breast cancer patients diagnosed during pregnancy or postpartum contains circulating tumor DNA, which could be used in the future to diagnose the tumor in early stages.
On September 14, 2023, a major breakthrough in breast cancer was announced, resulting from the II FERO-ghd Project in breast cancer, supported by the FERO Foundation and ghd.
The research, led by Dr. Cristina Saura, Head of the Breast Unit at VHIO and the VHIO Breast Cancer Group, Dr. Miriam Sansó, researcher at IdISBa, and Dr. Ana Vivancos, Head of the VHIO Genomics Laboratory, has demonstrated for the first time that breast milk from breast cancer patients contains tumor DNA, known as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
This ctDNA can be detected through liquid biopsy in breast milk, even before it is detected in blood samples, and could become a new tool for early diagnosis of breast cancer in the postpartum period. The results of this research have just been published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
The next step to confirm the usefulness of breast milk as a new liquid biopsy tool for the early detection of postpartum breast cancer is to conduct this non-invasive test on thousands of women. Based on the results published today, a multinational study will be initiated to collect breast milk samples from 5,000 healthy women at higher risk of breast cancer who became pregnant at 40 years or older, or of any age who carry mutations that increase their risk of developing breast cancer.
The Beginnings of the Research
The research projects supported by FERO are studies in which the participation, experience, and involvement of patients play a very important role. In this case, the concern of a breast cancer patient diagnosed during the pregnancy of her third child inspired the authors of the research and led them to develop the study.
Specifically, the patient was concerned about having transmitted the tumor to her daughter through breast milk during breastfeeding. Thus, she brought a breast milk sample she had stored in her freezer and, despite the knowledge that breast cancer is not transmitted through breast milk, the researchers decided to analyze the sample with the idea that the markers found could contribute to the research.
Dr. Saura explains, “when analyzing the patient’s breast milk, we found DNA with the same mutation that was present in her tumor. The breast milk had been frozen more than a year before the patient’s cancer diagnosis.”
Research Capable of Detecting Breast Cancer in its Pilot Phase in Women Who Would Not Have Been Diagnosed Otherwise
Even as a pilot project, the research team was able to detect the disease in women who would not have been diagnosed otherwise, as they had no indications that they might be suffering from the disease at that time. For example, the case of a woman who, after reading the study’s press release in the newspaper La Vanguardia, decided to volunteer without suspecting that a few months later she would have a tumor. Her participation was key to the research, and thanks to it, she received an early diagnosis and effective treatment.
VHIO and Liquid Biopsy in Breast Cancer
The Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology has a Breast Unit with a multidisciplinary department that specifically treats women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy and postpartum.
Over the years, the need for new and better early detection methods for breast cancer in these cases has been identified, where it is more difficult to diagnose the tumor by more classic methods (mammography, palpation, ultrasound, etc.) due to the breast changes typical of pregnancy. Furthermore, liquid biopsy in blood is currently used in patients with metastatic breast cancer for the detection or monitoring of some mutations, but it still has low sensitivity as a tool for early diagnosis or prediction of relapses. Thus, the discovery of this new finding represents a great advance.
“Due to its proximity to the tumor, breast milk could be an alternative source for detecting the tumor through liquid biopsy,” states Dr. Ana Vivancos.
II FERO-ghd Project
Ghd has been collaborating with the FERO Foundation since 2011 and has raised over €1.5 million in Spain for translational oncology research projects.
These funds have enabled the support of new researchers in establishing their laboratories through the financing of five FERO-ghd breast cancer research projects, various exploratory projects for new therapies, and part of the Advanced Molecular Diagnostics Program (DIAMAV) at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO).
Thanks to this collaboration and to the FERO Foundation being the first entity to trust Dr. Saura’s and Dr. Sansó’s project, today we are facing a possible new method for early detection of breast cancer.
If you also want to collaborate in this cause, join the campaign and purchase one of the products from the ghd pink 2023 collection. Through the FERO Foundation, €10 from each purchase of a product from the new ghd pink 2023 collection is allocated to oncology research in breast cancer.
One more demonstration of the power of research, dissemination, patient involvement in study design, and the importance of collaboration. Will you continue to help us make these discoveries possible? Collaborate with the FERO Foundation! Contact us at fero@fero.org.
