{"id":6269,"date":"2025-08-30T20:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T03:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acupotter.ca\/?p=6269"},"modified":"2025-08-31T10:49:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T17:49:36","slug":"breast-cancer-early-detection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acupotter.ca\/en\/womens-health\/breast-cancer-early-detection\/","title":{"rendered":"Is breast cancer treatment effective? It's worth the money to \"know in advance\"!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Lai Rongyan, a physician integrating Western and Chinese medicine
Chief Advisor of Yanghe Chinese Medicine
General Director of Ai Gang Medical Group
Former Vice President of the Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University \/ Former Professor of China Medical University  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Breast cancer patients often ask how long they have to continue receiving chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy. At first, the oncologist said the hormone therapy would take five years; now it\u2019s been five years, and they\u2019re now saying that it\u2019s better to take it for ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lack of existing tracking tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Common tumor indicators includeCEA<\/strong>\u3001CA153<\/strong>Due to its high \u201cunreliability\u201d rate, which predicts worsening outcomes, the reference value for the effectiveness of treatment after diagnosis is limited. Moreover, even with all standard treatments (tumor resection and chemotherapy, targeted therapy, systemic adjuvant therapy such as hormones), approximately 30% of patients undergo cancer metastasis after several years of follow-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the current situation is that patients often \u201cassume\u201d that their cancer is \u201cwell-controlled\u201d before they have even felt or been detected by routine testing until one day, some of them themselves feel it or ultrasound, X-ray, or MRI show it (usually when it has reached approximately 0.5 centimeters, which is the smallest size that can be detected; this means that there are approximately 500 million tumor cells). Only then do they discover that the cancer has recurred or has even worsened and spread to other organs (approximately 25 to % of breast cancer patients have spread to the bones, lungs, liver, and brain). Breast cancer patients urgently need more efficient monitoring and assessment tools!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Breakthroughs and Limitations of Genetic Testing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the past decade, due to the maturation of genetic testing technology, there have been OncoType DX\u00ae<\/strong> After several companies started clinical services, it was discovered that some patients undergoing chemotherapy were receiving unnecessary treatment; genetic testing undoubtedly is a great invention for breast cancer patients!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, this breakthrough technology is only applicable toHormone positive, HER2 negative<\/strong>According to my clinical case observations, the high recurrence risk identified in the report holds great predictive value for the future course of the disease. For example, one of my patients was assessed as having a high recurrence risk, but less than two years later, the patient\u2019s disease not only returned but had also metastasized to the bones. Therefore, I strongly recommend that for groups identified as having a high recurrence risk following genetic testing, the best course of action is to actively pursue the \u201cmulti-modality\u201d treatment strategy advocated by me in addition to standard therapy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for patients, such genetic testing cannot provide \"precision\" information to clinical physicians regarding whether to \"immediately\" adjust the treatment direction, the recommended medication, or the reference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Liquid biopsy and circulating tumor cells (CTCs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the growth of breast cancer cells in the breast, some of the cancer cells have already detached from the original tumor and quietly entered the bloodstream (even after treatment, these cancer cells may continue to enter the bloodstream). These cancer cells are called \u201ccirculating tumor cells\u201d (CTCs), which is the beginning of the transfer of breast cancer cells to distant organs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past decade, thanks to the advances in genomics and proteomics research, the development ofLiquid slice<\/strong>The diagnostic technology of liquid biopsy can be performed by taking blood samples, which allows the collection and identification of the number of CTCs in the blood. This undoubtedly provides an \u201cinstantaneous\u201d and \u201cprecise\u201d answer to the question that all cancer patients undergoing continuous chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy have been asking: \u201cIs it under \u201cgood\u201d control?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, major medical centers and biotechnology companies have all provided testing services for CTCs. Those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are:CellSearch detection system<\/strong>As an example, a positive definition is when there are 1 or more CTCs in 7.5\u201322.5 milliliters of blood. If more than 5 CTCs are found, there is a 50% chance that the disease has already spread. Research scholars have also confirmed that an increase in the number of CTCs in the blood can predict the deterioration of the condition in the short term, allowing clinical physicians to use it as a standard for evaluating whether treatment is being controlled \u201cwell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strongly recommend that every breast cancer patient undergo at least two tests before and after treatment. For patients at high risk of recurrence, I recommend monitoring them every three months during the acute phase. Personally, I primarily look at the CTC test results to see whether there are any CTCs present, and whether the number of CTCs has increased or decreased before and after treatment. This serves to assess whether the various treatments the patient has received are effective, and if necessary, to adjust the treatment options or doses of my \u201cmulti-modal management\u201d strategy on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, why is it that, as of now, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has not yet included CTC measurements as a clinical application guideline in its \u201cGuidelines for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer\u201d? The reasoning is the same as my argument above: because CTCs are active and flexible.The transition between the epithelium and the interstitium<\/strong>(Interstitial epithelial cell transformation),epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)<\/strong>\uff09\u3002The current CTC testing mainly uses tumor cell samples.Apical markings<\/strong>Performing characteristic testing, therefore, even if it does not (or misses) translate intoInterstitial tumor cells<\/strong>The number of stromal tumor cells is a serious problem; using the number of stromal tumor cells to determine whether there has been a metastasis is not accurate (because it does not take into account all the cells). Moreover, the number of stromal tumor cells rising or increasing in proportion is the key indicator of cancer metastasis and the most important reason for the development of cancer stem cells and the recurrence, metastasis, and development of treatment resistance in breast cancer. Although scientists are still working to develop various methods to determine the number of stromal tumor cells, until the technology is mature, it is advisable to use the CTCs test report conservatively as an \u201cinstantaneous\u201d tool to assess whether the treatment is effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More precise tracking evaluation tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, is there a test that is both \u201cinstantaneous\u201d and \u201caccurate\u201d for determining the metastasis of breast cancer? The answer is yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since scientists knowIntercellular epithelial transformation (EMT) is a key mechanism of cancer metastasis. They focus on detecting changes in a group of proteins and receptors that induce or activate EMT. This is essentially equivalent to detecting the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGF receptors, VEGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR, (EXON18~21)), which help in tumor angiogenesis, tumor growth, metastasis, and other functions, and can predict the metastasis of breast cancer, the development of resistance to treatment, poor response to therapy, and decreased survival rate (Vimentin (VIM)).<\/strong>\u3001EMT-TFs<\/strong>\u3001TWIST1<\/strong>\u53caALDH1<\/strong>The \"expression\" of the protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a report, read in conjunction with the number of CTCs (or circulating tumor cell chromosomes, microRNAs, ctDNA), is very helpful in understanding more about the tumor cells that have formed within the patient's body.Tumor microenvironment<\/strong>When the situation becomes too chaotic and dangerous, clinical physicians can stop using ineffective drugs early and replace them with more targeted and effective drugs (such as immunotherapy and angiogenesis inhibitors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a \u201cinstant\u201d and \u201cprecise\u201d tracking assessment tool should be the report every clinical physician has been dreaming of for \u201ctreating things clearly\u201d! And for cancer patients, knowing regularly whether breast cancer is \u201chealed\u201d or has been controlled can lead to a normal life free from fear!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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