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Experts: Lifestyle plays a part in breast cancer
Panel of specialists reveals results of their research
By Trevon Milliard, Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer
"Make no mistake about it, we know the answer," he said. "The problem is the answer isn't socially acceptable."
The breast cancer rate would be one-tenth its current rate if we lived the way people in Asia did 50 years ago, Lippman told a crowd of more than 100 filling Sun Valley Inn's Continental Room on Thursday. He led a 20-person panel, consisting of the world's leading breast cancer specialists, at the 15th annual Laura Evans Memorial Breast Cancer Symposium.
"The only question is how to get there without being 5 feet tall and having babies at 17," he said.
Lippman said one of the leading factors contributing to breast cancer is that women are bigger, unlike Asians of 50 years ago who were short and thin because they didn't eat as much. They also had babies in their teens.
Another panelist, Dr. Clifford Hudis, has focused his research on the causes and prevention of breast cancer. He said the average American's weight has increased by one pound a year for the past 20 years.
"If you tell a patient to lose weight because it will decrease their likelihood of breast cancer, they just shrug their shoulders," he said.
He said patients already know that being overweight is unhealthy, and they're unlikely to change their behavior because you give them another reason.
"We're not just heavier, but bigger, taller," he said.
Lippman said that also increases the likeliness of breast cancer because it causes women to start menstruating at an earlier age, a well-known factor. He said an average American girl's first period is now at age 10 and a half, coming earlier because it depends on a woman's size, not age. Plus, women are having children later, which is another breast cancer contributor, he said.
He said habitual consumption of alcohol is also a known contributor to breast cancer.
"You can't escape the connection," he said, but it's a choice you have to make. Is drinking worth the risk? "If you don't want to break a bone, don't ski."
Lifestyle isn't, however, always to blame.
Dr. Joyce O'Shaughnessy, co-chair of breast cancer research at the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, told the story of two women who were diagnosed at age 32 and 33, unusually young for breast cancer. She said it was determined that they're genetically disposed to having breast cancer even though neither had any family history.
That raised the question of why women aren't advised to have mammograms, checking for breast cancer, earlier than age 40. The answer, she said, is that it's not worth the cost of a mammogram earlier than that because tumors are difficult to spot in young breasts, which are mostly glandular. However, breasts become more fatty as women age, making it likely to spot tumors at about age 40. Doctors will use MRIs as an alternative for young women if they're deemed genetically prone to breast cancer.
A key element to the success of the Symposium has been our Scientific Advisor, Marc Lippman, MD, Kathleen & Stanley Glaser Professor; Chairman, Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Dr. Lippman took over the position in 2000 from the founding Scientific Advisor, Samuel Hellman, MD. Dr. Lippman has attempted to bridge the gap between basic tumor biology and clinical application in the field of breast cancer. He has authored over 500 publications, including a standard text on breast cancer, and has successfully pursued clinical trials for every stage of breast cancer patients with most of these studies reflecting his special joining of clinical with basic science. Expedition Inspiration is honored to be associated with Dr. Lippman. These are his thoughts on the Open Forum:
Previous Symposium Topics 2010: “New Targets for Breast Cancer Therapy”
2009: "New Developments In Breast Cancer" 2008: "New Therapeutic Approaches To Breast Cancer" 2007: "The Transformation of Breast Cancer Management From Clinical Care to Clinical Science" 2006: "Translating Science Into Clinical Care for Breast Cancer" 2005: "Breast Cancer — New Biology with Therapeutic Impact" 2004: "Breast Cancer — The Development and Validation of New Therapeutics" 2003: "Metastases: Mechanism of Formation; Identification and Characterization; Therapeutic Opportunities" 2002: "Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer: Clinical Applications" 2001: "Hormones and Breast Cancer: Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Immunity" 2000: "Breast Cancer: Lymph Nodes and Immunity" 1999: "Breast Cancer Metastases: Mechanisms, Determinants, and Markers" 1998: "The Genetics of Breast Cancer" 1997: "Molecular Based Therapy of Breast Cancer"
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Photos above by Nils Ribi
2011 List of Attendees
Expedition Inspiration Scientific Advisor
Marc Lippman, M.D.
Kathleen and Stanley Glaser Professor
Chairman, Department of Medicine
Deputy Director, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Miller School of Medicine
University of Miami
Christopher Benz, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Program Director
Buck Institute for Age Research
Nanette H. Bishopric, M.D.
Professor & Director Cardiovascular Genomics Program
Cardiovascular Division
Miller School of Medicine
University of Miami
Matthew J. C. Ellis, M.B., B.Chir., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Medicine Oncology Division
Medical Oncology Section
Washington University in St. Louis
Francisco J. Esteva, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Breast Medical Oncology
Division of Cancer Medicine
Director, Breast Cancer Translational Research
MD Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas
Stephen P. Ethier, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Basic Science & Deputy Director Faculty
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Cliff Hudis, M.D.
Chief, Breast Cancer Medicine Service
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Elizabeth Iorns, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Associate
Miller School of Medicine
University of Miami
Lance A. Liotta, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Life Sciences
Co-Director, The Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine
George Mason University
Joyce O'Shaughnessy, M.D.
Co-Chair of Breast Cancer Research
Texas Oncology — Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center
Mark Pegram, M.D.
Director for Clinical and Translational Research Program
Acting Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Miami
James Rae, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine- Hematology and Oncology
University of Michigan Health System
Joseph Rosenblatt, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology
William J. Harrington Chair in Hematology
Division of Hematology - Oncology
Interim-Director, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Miami
EXPEDITION INSPIRATION
2010 YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD RECIPIENTS
Chloe C. Milsom, Ph.D.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Department of Cellular Biology
Toronto
Recipient — Brenda M. Williams Young Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research
Toby M. Ward, Ph.D.
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Department of Hematology/Oncology
University of Miami
Expedition Inspiration Scientific Advisor-Emeritus
Samuel Hellman, M.D., FACR
AN Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor
Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology
University of Chicago Expedition Inspiration
Medical Advisory Board
Angela DeMichele, M.D., MSCE
Chair, Expedition Inspiration Medical Advisory Board
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Abramson Cancer Center
University of Pennsylvania
Ronald Dorn, M.D.
Radiologist
Mountain States Tumor Institute
Boise, ID
Julie Gralow, M.D.
Oncology Specialist
Medical Oncology Division
Professor
University of Washington School of Medicine
Clinical Research Division
Associate Member
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Kathleen Grant, M.D.
Oncologist/Hematologist
California Pacific Medical Center
Peter Kaufman, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Medical Oncologist/Internist
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Paul Montgomery, M.D.
Medical Oncologist/Internist
Mountain States Tumor Institute
Boise, ID
Michael Press, MD, Ph.D.
Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Keck School of Medicine
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Southern California
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