Teachable moment in classrooms:
- tissues chapter – epithelial tissue lines the interior of lactiferous ducts
- female reproductive system chapter – location of lactiferous ducts in mammary gland
- endocrine system chapter – cells need hormone receptors to react to hormones
- immune system – the roles of T and B lymphocytes in immune response
The news item: The following report appeared recently:
Potential breast cancer vaccine undergoing testing
The key protein for a potential vaccine that would treat breast cancer was found through “a matter of luck and tenacity.”
The article states that a key protein was found to serve in the making of a vaccine against breast cancer. This protein is made by breast cancer cells, but not by normal mammary glands.
So, Why Do I Care?? There is over 350,000 new breast cancer diagnosis each year in the US, and over 43,000 women die yearly from this cancer. There are several types of surgical and chemotherapeutical treatments after the diagnosis, however; preventative measures, such as vaccination, would be a great way to decrease the number of breast cancer diagnoses.
Plain English, Please!!! First, let’s talk about what breast cancer is. Despite the name, breast cancer doesn’t mean that the entire breast turned into a mass of cancer cells. Breast cancer refers to the cancerous changes in the mammary gland. Most frequently cancer cells develop in the epithelial tissues of lobules (where milk is produced) and in the lining of lactiferous ducts.
Second, let’s talk about what is a triple negative breast cancer. The normal growth of the mammary gland during pregnancy is stimulated by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, and epidermal