"Salud" is a Latin Post feature series that focuses on health and wellness topics and examines Latino health trends.

Breast cancer survival can be a likely outcome for many, thanks to the continuous production of thoroughgoing research, medicines and devices developed by scientists, experts and oncologists. However, survival is also determined by knowledge about the most common form of cancer in the U.S, which usually is first detected by a breast lump or an abnormal mammogram.

In 2015, it's estimated that 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 60,290 new cases of "in situ" breast cancer will develop in U.S. women. And 2,350 new cases of breast cancer will develop in U.S. men, according to breast cancer research firm Susan G. Komen. Also, there will be 40,290 breast cancer deaths for women and 440 breast cancer deaths for men by the year's end.

Philip Rosenberg, a senior investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), indicated by 2030, there will be 441,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed yearly in U.S. women ages 30 to 84, based on recent research. That translates to a 50 percent rise in the number of breast cancer cases over the next 15 years. There are several factors that contribute to influx, with one of them being that the likelihood of cancer increases with age and people are living longer. According to Rosenberg, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.

Susan G. Komen clarifies that race isn't a factor for breast cancer occurrence; however, rates of getting breast cancer and dying from it differs among ethnic groups. African American and Hispanic/Latina women are more likely than non-Latino white women to be diagnosed with later stage breast cancers. And they frequently have larger tumors as well. While Hispanic/Latina women are screening for breast cancer at rates similar to non-Hispanic white and African-American women, Hispanic/Latina women are less likely to get prompt follow-up after an abnormal mammogram.

It's not only important that Latinas follow up after abnormal mammograms, but they should also stay abreast to new developments and research that could help them or educate them.

NEW BREAST CANCER RESEARCH & INFO:

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) proposed new breast cancer screening guidelines, which radiologists at Loyola University Health System (LUHS) suggest will result in thousands of additional and unnecessary breast cancer deaths.

USPSTF argued that women younger than age 50 shouldn't worry about mammography screening because of overdiagnosis, overtreatment and false-positive tests. However, LUHS disagrees, saying that "one in six breast cancers occurs in women in their 40s, and years of research clearly support the use of annual screening mammography in women beginning at age 40."

U.S. breast cancer has dropped 35 percent since the mid-1980s, with credit due to the widespread implementation of breast screening. LUHS experts say that USPSTF recommendations could impact insurance coverage of mammograms for women ages 40 and older. The guidelines could create potential financial barriers because of out-of-pocket expenses, and that could lead to countless lives lost. The American College of Radiology and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agrees with LUHS' assertion that women should begin screening at age 40.

A new development this week, however, indicated that the breast cancer screening process could be much more affordable in the near future. Color Genomics is unveiling a $249 testing kit that analyzes DNA in saliva. Users spit into a tube provided with the test kit and mail it back for results.

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey recently discovered that genomic profiling helps to identify genomic mutations in a gene associated with a rare subset of breast cancer. The information produced from the study could have therapeutic implications specific to that rare form of the disease, according to researchers.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers produced a rice grain-size implantable device with an ability to carry small doses of up 30 different types of drugs to better gauge what drugs are best able to kill cancer cells. In addition to testing against several types of cancer, the device was used to address an aggressive type of breast cancer known as triple negative. Researchers found that the cancer responded differently to five of the drugs commonly used to treat that form of cancer. The most effective drug was paclitaxel, followed by doxorubicin, cisplatin, gemcitabine and lapatinib. Next year, researchers are planning to launch a clinical trial in breast cancer patients.

BreastDefend, a botanical formula for breast health that inhibits the growth of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) human breast cancer cells, enhances the anti-cancer benefits of the drug tamoxifen in the treatment of breast cancer, according to researchers at the Cancer Research Laboratory. In three previous studies, the formula was used to suppress the growth and migration of human breast cancer cells, and it inhibited the growth of breast-to-lung metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer. The dietary supplement offers a safe and effective approach to enhancing the anti-cancer benefits, according to Dr. Isaac Eliaz, developer of the formula and one of the study's co-authors.

The National Health and Medical Research Council and University of Adelaide's researchers discovered an important feature in breast cancer development. They discovered a new target, a protein called chemokine receptor CCR7, which is involved "in maintenance of the cancer stem cell pool as well as regulating their function, and therefore fuels the growth of breast cancer," according to Sarah Boyle, researcher and PhD student within the School of Biological Sciences. Developing drugs to modify the receptor could help to delay tumor onset, growth and spread.

According to a study conducted at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, women who increase the amount of time they fast overnight can reduce glucose levels and their overall risk for developing breast cancer. In addition to what a person eats, how often a woman eats plays a role in cancer risk. Women who fast longer showed better control over blood glucose concentration, and those who increased nighttime fasting by three hours reduced postprandial glucose levels by four percent. According to the American Cancer Society, fasting is associated with a type of alternative therapy known as metabolic therapy.

In an effort to educate the public about breast density and its impact on early-stage breast cancer detection, a new educational website was recently developed, promoting the concept "Get Smart about Being Dense." Breast density notification laws have been enacted in 22 states, and it insists that information about breast density be provided to women in a letter shared after mammograms. According to the site developers, mammograms often have difficulty detecting early-stage breast cancer due to the density of certain women's breasts.

Breast cancers are not the same, and understanding the manyhistologies, grades, stages, receptor statuses and DNA-based classifications that are involved in breast cancer diagnoses draws attention to the enormity of the fight against breast cancer. Educating oneself and others about breast cancer facts, factors and risks is nearly as important as the work researchers and scientists are doing to eradicate it.

The College of American Pathologists recently published four tips for women who've already been diagnosed with breast cancer: 1. Get a pathology report; 2. Understand what that report means (whether the tumor is cancerous and/or the stage and type, grade and stage of the tumor). 3. Explore the path to diagnosis by consulting specialists. 4. Understand available options (including further tests and treatment options).

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