What Does Breast Cancer Feel Like? Lumps and Pain Explained

In breast cancer, abnormal genes cause breast cells to grow uncontrollably and not die off as they normally would.

If these cells grow slowly and don't invade other tissues, they cause benign tumors. These are lumps that are not usually considered dangerous to health.

When abnormal cells grow at a more rapid rate and begin to invade surrounding tissues, they form cancerous tumors. These lumps pose a serious risk and can spread, creating new tumors throughout the body.

Read more: What Does Breast Cancer Feel Like? Lumps and Pain Explained

When breast cancer first appears, it can cause a wide range of different symptoms. Always seek
medical attention if in doubt about possible breast symptoms. Breast cancer can also affect men.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Swarms of Magnetic Bacteria Could be Used to Deliver Drugs to Tumors

One of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy is being able to sufficiently deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors without exposing healthy tissues to their toxic effects.

Researchers funded in part by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have recently shown that magnetic bacteria are a promising vehicle for more efficiently delivering tumor-fighting drugs. They reported their results in the August 2016 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Read more: Swarms of Magnetic Bacteria Could be Used to Deliver Drugs to Tumors

Illustration showing magnetic bacteria delivering drugs to a tumor.

Source: LabManager

Colorecal Cancer: Minimally Invasive, Triple-Therapy Patch Destroys Tumors

Research released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describes an adhesive patch that can deliver a triple-combination of drug, gene, and light-based therapy to colorectal tumors.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 1 in 21 for men and 1 in 23 for women.

Most colorectal cancers begin as a growth, or tumor, on the inner lining of the colon or rectum called a polyp, and they can change to cancer over many years. Not all polyps become cancer.

It usually takes around 10-15 years for abnormal cells to grow into colorectal tumors. With regular screening, polyps can be removed before they develop into cancer.

Although the type of treatment for colorectal cancer largely depends on the stage of cancer, treatment options are often surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Read more: Colorecal Cancer: Minimally Invasive, Triple-Therapy Patch Destroys Tumors

The triple-therapy patch could be used to treat any remaining cancer cells at the tumor site after surgery.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Gene Mutation 'Hotspots' Linked to Better Cancer Outcomes

Patients with the mutations tended to survive longer and had tumors more susceptible to aggressive treatment.

Breast cancer patients with groups of mutations clustered in their genome have better outcomes than patients without them, researchers found in a recent study.

More than half of breast cancer patients have clusters of genetic mutations called kataegis, and their cancer tends to be less invasive, offering better opportunities for effective treatment, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego.

Read more: Gene Mutation 'Hotspots' Linked to Better Cancer Outcomes

Although researchers are unsure of how the clusters of genetic mutations called kataegis occur,
but cancer patients who have them in tumors tend to respond better to treatment and have better
outcomes, according to a recent study.

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