What causes breast cancer?in 2023, in which researchers attempted to determine the actual distribution of a total of 24.5 billion dollars spent onThe abundant funding has had an impact. Mortality from breast cancer has fallen faster than mortality from other cancers. In 1980, 57.5% of patients survived at least 10 years with the disease. By 2022, the corresponding figure was 87.6%.
In Sweden, screening with mammography was gradually introduced starting in the 1980s. Today, all women between the ages of 40 and 74 are offered a free examination every 18 to 24 months.Absolutely not, says Per Hall, Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "For some reason we don't know, smoking reduces the density while increasing the risk of breast cancer. But smoking is a risk factor—albeit a weak one—in this context," says Per Hall.
Per Hall believes that new knowledge about the genetics of breast cancer will eventually shed more light on the risk factors. He believes that certain gene variants, perhaps in combination with certain other gene variants, can amplify the effect of certain risk factors, leading to the development of the disease in an individual.
The study he is talking about is called SMART and is part of the larger Karma project, which includes a large number of studies with different questions about breast cancer. In SMART, 70,000 women will be randomized into two groups. Half will be invited to join the existing screening program and offered screening at the current intervals. The rest will be risk assessed by the AI tool developed by Per Hall's research team.
Today, about two-thirds of breast tumors are detected through the screening program and about one in three breast cancers are interval cancers. In the best case, a trimmed screening program can contribute to more tumors being found early. But once they are caught, accurate diagnosis is crucial for the patient to get the best possible treatment. And AI has an important role to play here too.
It is these extreme close-ups of the tumors that pathologists analyze. In many cases, this involves counting, assessing and evaluating. For example, a certain percentage of cells must have receptors for estrogen and progesterone for a tumor to be considered hormone sensitive. The proportion of cells in the division phase describes the growth rate. There are other aspects that are important for categorizing a tumor.