Breast Cancer Research and The Role of Complementary Medicine

Cancer research is one of the cornerstones of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center’s mission to eradicate cancer and it has helped distinguish the cancer center from other facilities across the country.

Because Abramson Cancer Center researchers work side-by-side with clinicians, these multidisciplinary cancer treatment teams are able to bring new discoveries from the lab to the clinical setting faster than ever.

Breast cancer research seeks to find new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer.
Clinical trials at Penn may test new drugs and treatments, new screening methods, seek to determine genetic influence in a cancer diagnosis, or seek to improve the quality of life in cancer patients with nutrition, exercise or group therapy.

In the last four years, more than 800 breast cancer survivors have participated in breast cancer research at the Abramson Cancer Center. These studies have allowed Penn researchers to generate important knowledge that is used to improve the care for breast cancer survivors.

Here are some of the research highlights from research in complementary medicine and therapy for breast cancer.

Improving Communication Between Primary Care Physicians and the Cancer Team

Oncology and primary care communication can be difficult to manage. Recognizing the need to address these issues, researchers designed a study asking breast cancer survivors to identify areas where their primary care physicians could improve the quality of care for survivors. Because of this research, clinicians and researchers at Penn and in United States are working hard to enact change based on the patients’ input and concerns.
Mao JJ, Bowman MA, Stricker CT, DeMichele A, Jacobs L, Chan D, Armstrong K. “Primary Care Physicians’ Delivery of Survivorship Care: Perspectives of Breast Cancer Patients.” J Clin Oncol. Feb 20 2009; 27(6):933-8.

Integrating Complementary Therapies into Cancer Care

In this study, Penn researchers discovered the majority of the breast cancer survivors endorse the provision of therapies such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga for survivorship care. Because of this research, the Abramson Cancer Center continues to grow its patient-centered Integrative Medicines and Wellness Program.
Bonner-Millar L, Casarett D, Vapiwala N, DeMichele A, Stricker C, Velder L, Mao JJ, “Integrating complementary therapies into an academic cancer center: The perspective of breast cancer patients.” Journal of Society for Integrative Oncology. Summer 2010, 8(3), pp.106-113.

Genetic Links to Treatment Side Effects

The most recent research has led to the identification of a novel genetic variation that can be used to predict who may develop side effects to aromatase inhibitors. With this knowledge, researchers at Penn hope to create ways to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from aromatase inhibitors as well as those who may develop side effects. This effort will allow for the administration of individualized cancer care to improve quality of life and the survival of breast cancer survivors.
Mao JJ, Su HI, Feng R, Horn M, Aplenc R, Rebbeck TR, Stanczyk FZ, DeMichele A. “Association o f functional polymorphisms in CYP19A1 with aromatase inhibitor associated arthralgia in breastcancer survivors” Breast Cancer Res. 2011 Jan 20;13(1):R8.

The Abramson Cancer Center appreciates those patients who participate in this important research. Together, researchers and breast cancer survivors can make a difference in the lives of millions of women and their families whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.

Learn more about breast cancer research at Penn Medicine.
Search for a clinical trial on OncoLink’s Clinical Trials Matching Service.
Learn more about breast cancer treatment at Penn in Philadelphia.

Penn's Abramson Cancer Center is a national cancer center in Philadelphia providing comprehensive cancer treatment, clinical trials for cancer and is a cancer research center. The National Cancer Institute has designated the Abramson Cancer Center a Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 40 such cancer centers in the United States.