More than 700 Portuguese women will participate in a European clinical study that aims to identify an increased risk of developing breast cancer in young people, through a genetic test carried out from a saliva sample.
The objective of this study is to test “a new tool” to identify women under 50 years of age at risk of breast cancer and to adapt screening and measures to that risk, Luís Costa, director of the Oncology Department at Centro Hospitalar, told today. . Lisbon (CHULN).
CHULN is the institution that will integrate the study, which will take place in Portugal, Sweden, Estonia and Spain.
Luís Costa added that more and more cases of cancer appear in young people, noting that, according to the last oncological registry of 2018, of the approximately 7,500 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed, 1,800 were in women under 50 years of age, being “outside of the screening radar” which is currently aimed at women between 50 and 69 years of age.
The oncologist said that attempts were being made to extend the screening period to start at age 45 and continue to age 74, but even if this came to fruition, younger women would not be covered.
The specialist said that he expected to receive around 750 volunteers, aged between 35 and 50, users of the hospital’s non-oncology services who may also have a mammogram and whose result will accompany the polygenic test, as well as a letter of follow-up. Give to treating physician for future disease risk management, if necessary.
“This is not about women with breast cancer. They are women who do not have a personal history of breast cancer, whether or not they have a family history of breast cancer, can participate in this project“, clarified Luis Costa.
After the test is done, it is classified whether the woman is at risk equal to that of the general population or at higher risk, he said.
According to Luís Costa, the objective of this work is to demonstrate that it is feasible, with a test that is already approved in other countries, to early identify these women who are not even included in the new criteria to start screening.
“The word early is the word that counts the most for healing. The sooner we can diagnose, the earlier the stage and the greater the chance of cure.“, he stressed, noting that this tool aims to add “one more technical and scientific information”.
In his opinion, the projections will have to be “in the future, as far as possible, more individualized and not conditioned by age.”
“This means that there is information about the citizen. In this case, we are talking about a woman at risk of breast cancer, who knows if she is at increased risk or not, and whether or not she should, perhaps in the future, participate in a screening that has an age limit, not 45 years, but another age limit. That will have to be tested later, ”she declared.
Funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the study will be presented this Monday at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon.
Source: Observadora
