Test could predict breast cancer nine years before it strikes

Studies found that those who went on to contract breast cancer had lower levels of a chemical called methyl in their white blood cells' make-up compared to those who did not. Photo / Getty Images

British scientists believe they have found a way to predict breast cancer nine years before it develops.

In a major breakthrough, they found that measuring levels of a key chemical in the blood of healthy women could predict whether they go on to suffer from the disease later.

The findings could be used to help stop women from developing breast cancer at all, the researchers said.

The team from Imperial College London analysed blood samples from around 2,600 women from the UK, Norway, Australia and Italy, looking at changes to the DNA of white blood cells.

In a series of studies that tracked the women for an average of nine years, they found that those who went on to contract breast cancer had lower levels of a chemical called methyl in their white blood cells' make-up compared to those who did not.

Methylation - the process by which methyl builds up in our DNA - is essential for the healthy development of cells. But levels of the chemical can be affected by external factors such as alcohol - which can be controlled.

Therefore if a routine test can be developed from this research, it will allow doctors to suggest lifestyle changes that could stop breast cancer developing.

Being able to predict and prevent cancer is a holy grail for researchers. Breast cancer can be discovered in 80 per cent of cases by mammograms, but at this point a tumour has already grown. Earlier this year scientists at the University of Copenhagen developed a test that could predict who would get breast cancer around two to five years before it occurred - so a nine-year warning would be a significant improvement.

Dr James Flanagan, from the department of surgery and cancer at Imperial College London, said: "This novel and exciting topic has the potential to show how lifestyle and environmental factors influence one's risk of developing breast cancer.

"Crucially, epigenetic patterns [changes to your DNA triggered by external causes] are modifiable, meaning that, unlike genetic risk, there is a possibility that we may find ways in which you can modify your epigenetic risk, so that fewer people develop cancer in the first place."

Dr Richard Berks, of British charity Breast Cancer Now, which partly funded the research, said: "This study represents a really important brush-stroke in the bigger picture of breast cancer risk and prevention.

"Further research will now be required to understand why this loss of methylation might increase a woman's risk of breast cancer, the findings of which could provide crucial insight into how breast cancer develops and how to prevent it.

"If we can predict who might get breast cancer, we can intervene to reduce their risk of developing the disease."

- Daily Mail