BATAAN PENINSULA STATE UNIVERSITYBalanga CampusCOLLEGE OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

ACTIVITY #1:RESEARCH PAPER SUMMARY

In Partial FulfillmentFor the Requirement in the Subject ofNCM-106: ONCOLOGY NURSING

Submitted to:Romeo C. Tuazon Jr., RN, RM, MAN

Submitted by:Shayne Honoree B. De Leon

June 30, 2014

ReferenceSantucci-Pereira, J., George, C., Armiss, D., Russo, I.H., Vanegas, J.E., Sheriff, F., de Cicco, R.L., Russo, J. (2013). Mimicking pregnancy as a strategy for breast cancer prevention. Breast Cancer Management, 2(4): 283-294.

Introduction As one of the most common forms of cancer, breast cancer has been meticulously studied and researched over the years. A common finding in this research is that a connection has been found between pregnancy and breast cancer prevention. Evidence has shown that early pregnancy may provide a protection against breast cancer later in life, compared to women who have not been pregnant or became pregnant later in life. Previous research has determined a common thread between pregnancy and breast cancer: hormones, specifically estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In this research, the question to be answered is what is it exactly about pregnancy that may prevent cancer, and is it possible to simulate such effect in nulliparous women?

MethodologyIn this study, eighty 50-day-old virgin female Sprague-Dawley rats were used to test the effects of the three different hormones to mimic pregnancy. In total, there were four groups containing 20 rats each: a control group which received only bacteriostatic water intraperitoneally (hCG vehicle); a group which received 100 IU a day of recombinant hCG (Ovidrel) intraperitoneally; a group which received a surgically implanted estrogen + progesterone pellet containing 0.72 mg of 17- estradiol and 200 mg progesterone; and a group in which the rats were mated and allowed to complete pregnancy. Each group was exposed to pregnancy or hormone treatment for 21 days and, at the end of exposure, were given a resting period of 21 days to allow the involution of the mammary gland. Five samples per group were chosen based on the quality of extracted RNA and Agilent gene-expression microarrays, representing the whole genome of the rat.

ResultsAnalysis of the genes expressed in all three preventative modalities shows that pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone treatment, and hCG treatment all procured cellular differentiation of the mammary gland, thus, providing protection against breast cancer. Of the three, it was the hCG preventative strategy that expressed the largest group of genes that promotes additional cellular differentiation of the mammary gland, reducing the potential of mammary gland cells to change into carcinogens.

DiscussionWith the results of this study, it implies that it is possible to mimic the hormones of pregnancy in order to prevent breast cancer. Specifically, it is noted that human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) preventative measure promoted the most cellular differentiation, thus being the most effective measure. Upon this discovery, further research could be conducted into how to implement using hCG in women to prevent breast cancer.

Implications to the Nursing Profession Nurses are very much aware of the different preventive measures there are against the formation of cancer. Common methods include promoting a healthy lifestyle by eating a nutritious diet and encouraging exercise. With the information obtained from this study, it encourages a new line of thinking in terms of prevention. This is especially helpful for nurses whose patients are having difficulty becoming pregnant. Nurses can explain an alternative use of hCG (in which requires further research) can help prevent breast cancer. In this way, protection against breast cancer is not limited to those who are able to become pregnant.