To Your Health
October, 2022 (Vol. 16, Issue 10) |
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Breast Cancer and the Microbiome
By Editorial Staff
Women (and yes, men) of all ages, listen up: If your microbiome's in good shape, your risk of deadly breast cancer is lower. Think the microbiome's just about having a healthy gut? A healthy microbiome is increasingly regarded as the key to a healthy
you. Here's why your microbiome is absolutely critical if you develop breast cancer.
A healthy microbiome helps protect you against cellular changes to normal breast tissue that can increase the risk of breast cancer that spreads to other areas of the body. If cancer spreads (called metastasis), survival risk plummets; for metastatic breast cancer, the five-year survival rate after diagnosis is less than 30 percent for women (and just above 20 percent for men – yes, men can also suffer breast cancer).
The key cells involved in this process are mast cells, a type of white blood cell (immune cell) that normally helps our body defend itself. However, in the presence of an unhealthy microbiome, mast cells appear to accumulate in breast tissue (even in a cancer-free environment), encouraging tumor metastasis. When researchers blocked this accumulation, tumor spread declined significantly.
Life vs. death. The health of your microbiome may make the difference when it comes to breast cancer. To learn more about your microbiome and what can affect it, click here and talk to your doctor.
