By Kevin Kalinske, MD, director of breast oncology at Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, as told by Alexandra Benicic
In the WebMD webinar Triple negative breast cancer: How can we learn to treat it more effectively? Kevin Kalinsky, MD, director of breast oncology at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute, answered viewers’ questions about TNBC and its treatments.
We do not have clear data from any tumor subtype on stress and how it affects cancer development. There is some preclinical data, which means in vitro data, that has been examined Stress hormones and the risk of cancer return. But again, this is preclinical data. And that didn’t necessarily translate to how people with TNBC were cared for.
When I talk to people about managing stress, it’s important for us to think about the effects this period can have — on our overall well-being and mentality.
There is data indicating this link between the mind-body connection and the outcome of someone with TNBC. However, there was no clear data on the relationships between stress hormones and the risk of recurrence – and whether this could help reduce the risk of cancer returning.
When we treat people with triple negative breast cancer, if we give them systemic treatment, it’s to reduce the possibility that the cancer will come back. This includes reducing the risk of recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer (when cancer has spread to other parts of the body).
We think more about the risk of other cancers if someone carries a genetic predisposition such as the BRCA gene. With BRCA breast cancer, there is a risk of developing breast cancer, including BRCA1 breast cancer and being associated with triple negative breast cancer, and ovarian cancer for example.
So if people have a genetic predisposition, depending on what that is, there may be a risk of developing other types of cancer as well.
There is data that looked at people who took the supplement during chemotherapy. We’ve seen that the more supplements people take, the worse their results. These may interfere with some of the treatments we offer.
There has definitely been interest in turmeric. But i would say that, in general, when you take supplements to make sure you talk to your doctor.
It comes on a case by case basis. For example, there was a study that looked at giving a supplement, L-carnitine, to see if it reduced the risk of developing neuropathy. We have already seen that it increased the risk of neuropathy.
This is the most frequently asked question in breast cancer. There are ongoing studies looking into it feed And Practice and whether this could help lead to better outcomes, including triple negative breast cancer.
We await results to help us answer this question.
I would say that it is always beneficial to talk to your dietitian, even outside of a breast cancer recurrence, just to have a healthy lifestyle. And I would say, in general, everything in moderation.
Yes, It’s an excellent question and an important thing for us to continue to evaluate.
I think it’s been one of the consistent findings over the years, and it just focuses on the importance that people — particularly young women Non-Hispanic black Keep getting their own mammograms and stay informed of these pictures. Especially if they have a strong family history.
I don’t know if the inequality is related to the spread. But as for differences in results, this remains an important question in terms of Social determinants of health.
This isn’t just for triple negative breast cancer, and it’s not just for non-Hispanic blacks versus non-Hispanic whites. Differences can also be seen in urban versus rural societies.
This is a very important question in terms of access to care. And even when someone cares, whether there is a difference in their level of care. We know that there can also be differences in communities in terms of screening rate.
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