Key points from today’s guests:

Dr. Sean Kumer, associate chief medical officer; VP, Perioperative and Procedural Services, The University of Kansas Health System

• As a side note to our topic on breast cancer research, we wanted to share an update on transplant waiting lists.
• In calendar year 2024 at The University of Kansas Health System, there are:
  • 475 total transplant candidates
  • 327 kidney
  • 135 liver
  • 14 heart
  • Register to donate at RegisterMe.org.

Amanda Styers, breast cancer trial participant

• Amanda has participated in several clinical studies for the prevention of breast cancer.
• Dr. Fabian recommended her for the latest study because she felt like she’d be an ideal candidate.
• Amanda realized she was at higher risk of breast cancer when she was a teenager and her mom had pre-menopausal breast cancer as well as her aunt.
• She had actually been on the high risk program practically since its inception.
• Amanda has stayed in the program. She has been under heightened surveillance. She has participated in a number of prevention studies, and it's done very well.
• She strongly encourages all women to make sure they know what their risk factors are and attend the Breast Cancer Prevention Center if you do have risk factors.

Dr. Carol Fabian, breast oncologist; director, Breast Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Research Center, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• The clinical trial uses a different type of biopsy needle. We actually sample the outer quadrants and the inner quadrants of the breast tissue. Then we take those cells, we concentrate them in a special way and look at them under the microscope to look at their appearance -- are they fairly normal or are they abnormal or more like cancer?
• This study is going very well. Breast density appears to be reducing, just like it did in the pilot study. Also, it appears that the proliferation is reducing as well.
• The breast cancer risk assessment tool from the National Cancer Institute is a very simple tool that anyone can use simply by going online.
• Anyone with a family history of breast cancer, especially in multiple relatives or in a relative who was diagnosed under the age of 50, would warrant genetic testing.
• Minimum exercise recommendations to help prevent breast cancer probably have about three hours a week and fast walking will do it. But if you can get up to five hours a week of aerobic exercise, that may reduce people's risk by a relative factor of 20-30 percent.
• Exercise is good for everything. It's good for your brain, it's good for your heart, it's good for your lungs. So minimizing alcohol, getting that exercise keeping your weight at a normal level. Those are all important things that everybody can do.
• I would very much like to thank people like Amanda for participating in research all these years. Amanda has undergone over the years about 18 of these fine little aspirations, so she is an incredible person. She strongly believes in research and we've made some tremendous advances both in breast cancer prevention and breast cancer treatment because of people like Amanda.

Dr. Lauren Nye, breast oncologist; medical director, Breast Cancer Prevention, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• BRCA mutations are one of the most common mutations that we see in hereditary breast cancer, which only accounts for about 10-15 percent of breast cancer.
• About one in 400 women will have a BRCA one or two mutation, and that puts them at a very high risk of breast cancer anywhere between a 50-70 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer.
• Typically, our management for reducing the risk of breast cancer is surgical, because our anti-estrogen medications don't work as well in BRCA one carriers because they have a higher tendency to get hormone negative breast cancer.
• In a woman with a BRCA one mutation, she can undergo high risk surveillance like Amanda has been doing.
• The goal there is early detection of breast cancer at hopefully a curable stage. But unfortunately, that individual may still have to go through treatment of breast cancer or risk-reducing mastectomy. We don't have a non-surgical option for women with the BRCA one mutation at this time.
• Those interested in breast cancer prevention research can email BCPCresearch@kumc.edu to learn more.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• The hospital COVID count for this week is at three patients, which is a decrease from eight patients last week.
• COVID is still a significant disease, as it still affects a significant group of populations that we have in our community.
• A recent study published by the Office of Health Economics, an independent company, looked at vaccination program in 10 different countries.
• What they found throughout those 10 countries was that when you had people who were in those immunization programs and getting immunized, it saved money, mortality, and morbidity.
• When there was investment in immunization programs in your country or in your community, there was a 19-fold return on that investment.

Thursday, April 25 at 8 a.m. is the next All Things Heart. Born months early at only three pounds, this newborn also had a heart condition. Learn more about how the medical team treats the tiniest of hearts.

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