Identifying young women at higher risk of breast cancer

Principal Investigator:
Mark Basik, CIUSSS de Centre-Ouest-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal-Jewish General/CIUSSS de Centre-Ouest-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal-Hôpital juif 

• Caroline Diorio, CHU de Québec 
• Martin Yaffe, Sunnybrook Research Institute 

Problem: Breast cancer rates in women under 40 are rising, but we don’t currently understand why. These cancers can also be difficult to spot because the ways we screen for breast cancer don’t work well in younger women.

Solution: Dr Basik and his colleagues will study the normal breast tissue in young women with cancer, comparing them to normal breast in young women who don’t have cancer, with the idea that the normal breast contains clues as to why cancer develops so early. They will also use new AI-assisted imaging techniques to look at mammograms from young women with breast cancer. Then, they will link the results of these studies to clinical risk factors for breast cancer.

Impact: These new insights will help the researchers develop a breast cancer screening program aimed at young women. They will use molecular and clinical risk factors to determine who should receive specialized screening; the results of that screening will identify people who would benefit from preventive treatment.