Could Hormone Tests Better Predict Your Risk of Breast Cancer?
October also marks Breast Cancer Awareness month and we’re teaming up with Breast Cancer Now to spread awareness around breast cancer prevention, treatment, and early detection.
We know we talk a lot about hormones here at MBODY – and we’re not changing course today! Our hormones have a powerful impact on our overall wellness, and tapping into your hormonal health can offer meaningful insights and lasting benefits. Not only can it help you manage symptoms associated with hormonal imbalance, but it can also support healthier aging, and studies suggest it might even help with early breast cancer detection.
In fact, a study published in Breast Cancer Research in 2019 found that adding 2 specific hormone tests to breast cancer risk prediction tests can increase the accuracy of the prediction for women between 35 and 50.
To learn more, check out this post from Breast Cancer Now, who contributed to funding this research, originally posted in May 2020.
These 2 hormone tests could improve breast cancer risk prediction
Researchers found that adding Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and testosterone levels to breast cancer risk calculations improves their accuracy for premenopausal breast cancer.
In the future, it could help identify younger women, especially those without a family history of the disease, who may benefit from preventive therapy or regular breast screening.
Researchers suggest that combining these hormone measurements with other factors, such as small genetic variations, may further improve future risk prediction models.
Benefits of assessing your hormone levels
Breast cancer risk prediction tools use information such as a woman’s age, age at first period and first birth, and family history. They can predict the number of women with certain characteristics who will develop breast cancer. But they need to be further improved to accurately tell apart women who will develop breast cancer from those who won’t.
Dr. Kotryna Temcinaite, Research Communications Manager at Breast Cancer Now, explained: ‘Currently it’s particularly challenging to estimate how likely younger women with no family history of the disease are to develop breast cancer before the menopause, and some of them may be at a higher risk.’
To improve risk prediction for premenopausal breast cancer, researchers from the New York School of Medicine examined the data from 3,652 women between the ages of 35 and 50 from the UK, USA, Italy, and Sweden. This included information from the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study, led by Professor Anthony Swerdlow at The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
They found that when AMH and testosterone levels were considered separately, as well as in combination, they moderately increased the accuracy of a five-year risk assessment. The greatest improvement in accuracy was among women without a family history of the disease.
These tests are easy to include in breast cancer screening
AMH and testosterone are relatively easy to measure, meaning they can be easily evaluated when assessing breast cancer risk in younger women.
While levels of other hormones change throughout the menstrual cycle, AMH and testosterone levels stay relatively stable. This means the risk levels estimated from these two hormones will not be affected.
Women who have higher levels of AMH for their age tend to reach the menopause when they are older. High AMH levels have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer both before and after menopause. Levels of testosterone in the blood, measured before and after menopause, have also been previously linked to breast cancer risk.
Why we need to move to more tailored approaches to early detection
Women aged 50-70 are offered regular breast screening, and women over 70 can request an appointment if they want to. But there is a need to develop accurate ways to know if younger women would benefit from it, too.
‘We need ways to accurately assess women’s chances of developing breast cancer before the menopause, if we want to offer tailored screening and advice,’ said Kotryna. ‘But to achieve this, more research is needed to ensure the predictions are as accurate as possible, reflecting their real likelihood of developing the disease.’
Researchers hope that they can further improve risk prediction tools by assessing other factors, such as small variations in DNA, to further increase the accuracy. In the future, it could help younger women make better-informed decisions relating to their chances of developing breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Now thanks M&S for their generous support of the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study.
Breast Cancer Now is here for anyone affected by breast cancer, the whole way through, providing support for today and hope for the future. For more information on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer visit breastcancernow.org/TLC.
