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According to the latest data from the Cancer Registry, in 2015, 1638 women in Lithuania were diagnosed with breast cancer. It is gratifying that the disease is increasingly detected in the early stages. Stage I and II disease was detected in nearly 70%. patients, and diagnoses of stage IV disease are steadily declining. This is very important because more than 90 percent. women who are diagnosed with cancer in the first stage are completely curable. In Lithuania, more than 15 thousand. women have been living with a breast cancer diagnosis for more than 10 years. This is a great achievement.
“Unfortunately, looking at the cancer statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) opens up a different picture. Lithuania is far behind in terms of 5-year survival in advanced breast cancer. It is only 30 percent. and it is almost twice as bad as the most attractive OECD countries, Israel or Finland. Early diagnosis and better availability of a new generation of drugs for the treatment of advanced breast cancer can improve the situation “, said Dr. NU, Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (IMI). Sonata Jarmalaitė.
Factors that help prevent breast cancer
When asked about the causes of breast cancer, the doctor emphasized that the risk of breast cancer increases with harmful habits that, if abandoned or limited, can greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer. This list also includes smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, overweight.
Physical activity, a healthy diet, and avoiding hormone replacement therapy can also help reduce this risk.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Sonata Jarmalaitė
Studies show that physical activity can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 30 percent, even in old age. It is recommended to exercise, walk for at least 30 minutes. five or more days a week. However, with age, hormonal changes are unavoidable risk factors for breast cancer.
This risk is compounded by a family history of cancer. It is estimated that up to a third of all breast tumors are inherited, but changes in the well-known BRCA and related genes account for only a tenth of breast tumors.
At the National Cancer Institute, we have implemented a three-step model for the detection of familial breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. Initially, we study the most common mutations in the BRCA genes, but we often diagnose the familial breast tumor in the third stage, applying a comprehensive study of genetic mutations using a next-generation sequencing method. With the introduction of modern investigative technologies, the detection of familial cases has almost doubled. The diagnosis of familial cancer also changes other treatment algorithms and is therefore very important for oncologists and for the woman herself.
Physical activity can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 30 percent, even in old age.
It is really disappointing that genomic medicine is taking its first steps in Lithuania and is not receiving adequate support and investment. The European Commission has recently launched a new program to fight cancer, including 13 recommendations on how to improve cancer statistics in Europe, calling for the development of oncology genetics, more cancer risk preventive genetic research to better understand the causes of cancer. cancer and prevent it early. explained the geneticist.
Without a doubt, it is much better to prevent cancer, especially since Lithuania, according to the interlocutor, has one of the worst availability of innovative medicines in the European Union.
“The situation is gradually improving, innovative drugs have recently been registered for the treatment of advanced breast cancer, which can extend life expectancy with cancer by months or even years. We hope that in the future the use of these drugs will be expanded. generation, that drugs are prescribed according to the biological and genetic subtype of the disease and not within the framework of limited clinical indications.
We hope that not only will the availability of innovative drugs increase, but at the same time the state will find the opportunity to compensate for breast implants with PSDF funds, because breast reconstruction after cancer treatment is an integral part of the quality of life of a woman, ”said S. Jarmalaitė.
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