Meet the clinicians
By Robert Levy
Ask physicians to describe their "dream technique" for preventing breast cancer, and the answer might be something like this: Without surgery or other invasive procedures, doctors would detect precancerous cells in the breast before they become malignant—and long before these cells begin amassing the genetic changes that make advanced tumors so difficult to treat. Then, with treatments tailored to specific cell types, they would treat only the area of the breast containing diseased tissue, averting the need for more extensive therapies later.
Futuristic as that scenario sounds, part of it may already be coming true. With a combination of high- and low-tech ingenuity, doctors have gained the ability to find and easily collect precancerous cells from portions of the breast. They can study the cells under a microscope and even take a "fingerprint" of their genetic activity. But, for now, it isn't clear how to apply this knowledge to patients at risk for breast cancer.
Among the questions researchers need to answer: How accurate are the screening techniques for potentially cancerous cells? How often do such tests detect "abnormalities" that turn out to be false alarms? How quickly do abnormal cells develop into cancer? Does the rate vary from woman to woman? Which women would benefit most from these types of screening tests?
At Dana-Farber, three of the newest members of the Women's Cancers Program are seeking the answers, hoping to find which methods hold the greatest promise, and for whom. Here is a brief look at three of them.
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