Early detection of breast cancer through the diagnosis of Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF)

The development of breast cancer has been mainly reported in women who have reached the post-menopausal stage; therefore, it is the primary factor responsible for death amongst postmenopausal women.

However, if treated on time it has shown a survival rate of 20 years in about two-thirds of women.

Cases of breast cancer have also been reported in younger women and the leading cause in them is their lifestyle pattern or they may be carriers of high penetrance mutated genes.

Premenopausal women who have breast cancer have been diagnosed with aggressive build-up of tumors and are therefore at more risk of loss of life.

Mammography is an effective way to test for breast cancer in women after menopause but is not so effective for premenopausal women or younger females.

Imaging techniques like contrast-enhanced MRI can up to some extent indicate the presence of a tumor but it cannot adequately differentiate between benign and malignant tumors.

Although the ‘omics’ strategies continuing for the last 20 years have been helpful at the molecular level in enabling the characteristics and proper understanding of such tumors over long-term longitudinal monitoring.

Classification, diagnosis, and prediction of the outcomes have been made through tissue and serum biomarkers but these also fail to diagnose the disease at an early stage.

Considerably there is no adequate detection technique present globally that can help early detection and provide adequate specificity, safety, sensitivity, and convenience for the younger and premenopausal women, thereby it becomes necessary to take early measures and build efficient tools and techniques for the same.

Through biopsies of nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) biomarker profiling can be performed.

It is a naturally secreted fluid from the cells of epithelium found in the breast.

Nowadays, home-based liquid biopsy collection kits are also available through which a routine check on breast health can be performed with the help of NAF.

Herein, we will review the biomarker screening liquid biopsy, and the new emerging technologies for the examination of cancer at an early stage, especially in premenopausal women.