News & Comment

Risk-based screening includes varying screening protocols for women based on their risk of breast cancer. The WISDOM trial incorporates universal genetic testing for nine susceptibility genes into risk assessment. Carriers of high-penetrance mutations are offered an annual MRI. One-third of the women with a mutation would not have qualified for genetic testing based on traditional criteria.

Women with breast cancer and a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation face high risks of contralateral breast cancer, and many opt for bilateral mastectomy. We used a simulation approach to predict the benefit of risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) on 20-year survival.

It has long been hypothesised that aspirin prevents cancer deaths by preventing metastasis. A recent study demonstrates this to be mediated through inhibition of Thromboxane A₂ (TXA2) leading to reversal of suppression of T cell immunity. I appraise the context and future research implications of these findings.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype infection causes cervical cancer, pharyngeal cancer, etc. The amount of circulating HPV DNA in the blood helps in detecting advanced/recurrent cancer earlier than with tumour marker elevation. Cancer immunotherapy is more effective for HPV infection-positive than for HPV infection-negative cancer.