While there may be a genetic link, there's another cause as well.
My sister's best friend had breast cancer and is now battling brain cancer. Apparently the molecules of most chemotherapy drugs used to fight breast cancer are too large to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which means that a cancer cell that metastasizes to the brain is not bombarded with the toxins it would be if it metastasized to another organ. Both my sister and her friend wondered whether the brains of breast cancer patients should be scanned at some point when other tests are being done to see if cancer has recurred - say, six months or a year later. It's an interesting thought.
Here are two studies that researched the chemotherapy/blood-brain barrier issue:
Comment Reply
While there may be a genetic link, there's another cause as well.
My sister's best friend had breast cancer and is now battling brain cancer. Apparently the molecules of most chemotherapy drugs used to fight breast cancer are too large to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which means that a cancer cell that metastasizes to the brain is not bombarded with the toxins it would be if it metastasized to another organ. Both my sister and her friend wondered whether the brains of breast cancer patients should be scanned at some point when other tests are being done to see if cancer has recurred - say, six months or a year later. It's an interesting thought.
Here are two studies that researched the chemotherapy/blood-brain barrier issue:
http://www.asco.org/ASCOv2/Meetings/Abstracts?&vmview=abst_detail_view&confID=55&abstractID=34335
http://www.cbcrp.org/RESEARCH/PageGrant.asp?grant_id=3944
September 4, 2009 - 8:45amThis Comment
Reply