Study: Breast Fluid Samples Help Identify Women With Higher Cancer Risk

A non-invasive technique may help identify women at increased risk of developing breast cancer up to 20 years before a diagnosis is made, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

A modified breast pump is used to obtain breast fluid samples to be evaluated for abnormal cells, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers collected nipple aspirate fluid from women recruited between 1972 and 1991, classifying the women according to the severity of abnormality found in the fluid's cells.

Compared with women whose breasts yielded no fluid, those whose fluid contained atypical hyperplasia were twice as likely to develop breast cancer, according to the study.

More than half of the 7,673 participants in the study were recruited from 1972 through 1980 and a second group was recruited from 1981 to 1991.

Three attempts were made to obtain breast fluid from each participant using a modified manual breast pump, which consisted of a small plastic cup attached to a syringe. About 60 percent of the women were able to produce fluid during the three attempts.

Women who were able to yield normal breast fluid were about 60 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women unable to yield any fluid. Women with cells classified as hyperplasia were 2.4 times more likely to develop breast cancer and women with atypia cells were 2.8 times more likely.

In the second group of women, those who produced normal breast fluid were 20 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than the women who yielded no fluid. Women who produced fluid will hyperplasia or atypia cells were twice as likely to develop breast cancer, reported the researchers.

The major advantage of using a simple breast pump to obtain specimens is that the technique is non-invasive, and involves very minimal or no risk to the woman, according to Margaret R. Wrensch, PhD, professor of epidemiology at UCSF and primary author of the study.

"Research is still needed to find other markers for cancerous and pre-malignant cells that can be detected with even simpler tests than the cytologic analyses performed for this study," said Wrensch. "Such future studies might yield more specific information about a woman's breast cancer risks."

Other Sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute