Ductal Lavage Helps to Assess Breast Cancer Risk

A study has found that a new technique called ductal lavage can help women at high risk of breast cancer choose strategies to reduce their risk, according to a report in the November 7, 2001, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, USA)

Since more than 95% of all breast cancers begin within ductal epithelial cells, those cells should show precancerous changes, or atypia, in a woman likely to develop breast cancer, say the researchers. In the new technique, an extremely thin tube is placed through a natural opening in the nipple into a milk duct. The duct is rinsed with salt water, and any cells that wash loose for microscopic exam are collected. An earlier method of obtaining cells for exam by suctioning nipple fluid (NAF) from the breast produced too few cells. The researchers used both techniques with 507 women at high risk of breast cancer.

Ductal lavage provided enough cells to examine in 78% of women, compared to only 27% of those who had the NAF technique, providing more than 100 times more cells. The researchers say the ductal lavage method was also more than three times as good at detecting abnormal cells. Women found with atypia can then seek ways to reduce their risk, such as taking the drug tamoxifen, or they may choose to have one or both breasts removed to prevent cancer from occurring.




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