Research to prevent what scientists have called a breast cancer ‘time bomb’ have been published. A study into why breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs may wake up following years of sleep and form incurable tumours has been carried out, funded by Breast Cancer Now.
It has revealed the process that triggers this breast cancer “time bomb” – and suggests a strategy to defuse it. Patients with the most common type of breast cancer – oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) – have a continued risk of their cancer recurring in another part of their body for many years, or even decades, after their original diagnosis and treatment.
When breast cancer cells spread from the first cancer in the breast to other parts of the body it is called secondary or metastatic breast cancer. While this is treatable, it cannot be cured, reports PA.
