{"id":263231,"date":"2025-04-23T13:23:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sola-diagnostics.com\/?p=263231"},"modified":"2025-04-24T10:01:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:01:50","slug":"detecting-the-risk-of-breast-cancer-before-it-develops-with-a-simple-smear-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sola-diagnostics.com\/en\/detecting-the-risk-of-breast-cancer-before-it-develops-with-a-simple-smear-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Detecting the risk of breast cancer before it develops – with a simple smear test?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”Detecting the risk of breast cancer before it develops – with a simple smear test?” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Three new studies, one clear goal: to rethink the early detection and prevention of breast cancer – individually, precisely and non-invasively.<\/p>\n

The research led by Prof. Martin Widschwendter’s team shows how epigenetic markers in a simple mouth swab can provide information about an individual’s risk – long before symptoms appear.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_heading title=”From theory to application: a new test for practice” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h2″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

The focus is on the so-called WID-BC score<\/strong>, developed on the basis of over 1,100 epigenetic profiles from buccal mucosa, cervical and blood samples.<\/p>\n

The results, published in Nature Communications<\/em>, are promising: buccal mucosa samples provide clear epigenetic signals that correlate with breast cancer risk – measurable by a simple, painless swab<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But the test is just the first step in a larger vision.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_heading title=”1. recognize risk: The smear test as a molecular early warning system” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h2″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

The first paper shows that epigenetic markers in oral swabs reflect the biology of breast tissue with astonishing precision. It is not the tumor material itself that is recorded – but biological signatures that develop over years and decades. <\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Epigenetics as a memory of our life history.<\/strong>
Nutrition, hormonal influences, stress – all of these leave molecular traces that can be detected in the smear test.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

This finding is based on the Systemic Lifetime Effect Hypothesis<\/strong>, vividly visualized in the article image (see above) by co-author Bente Theeuwes.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_heading title=”2. understanding the connections: Ageing and tissue at risk” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h2″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

The second study, published in Communications Medicine<\/em>, shows: Not all tissues age in the same way – and it is precisely these differences that could explain why certain organs are more susceptible to cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is particularly exciting is that the epigenetic ageing processes in the buccal mucosa are similar to those in breast tissue – further proof that the swab is more than just a practical sample.<\/p>\n

It is a functional mirror of biological processes in the target organ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_heading title=”3. make prevention measurable: Making interventions visible” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h2″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

The third publication goes one step further – and shows the potential of the method for personalized prevention. A preclinical study with mifepristone, a selective progesterone receptor antagonist, was able to demonstrate the potential of this method for personalized prevention: <\/p>\n