Nipple injections to treat breast cancer

Doctors in Boston, MA, are investigating the possibility of administering drugs directly into the milk ducts via the nipple to treat breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women after skin cancers. They estimate that 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetimes.

On a positive note, death rates from breast cancer have been declining since 1989, probably due to earlier detection and improved treatments, and there are currently more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the US.

However, the American Cancer Society estimates that 39,620 women will die from the disease in 2013 - a 1 in 36 chance.

Targeting the milk ducts

Most breast cancers originate in cells lining the milk ducts - the thin tubes that carry milk from the milk glands (lobules) to the nipple. Injections via the nipple directly target this area, delivering the drugs where they are needed most.

Current treatment options include intravenous chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. While beneficial, these treatments can produce unpleasant side effects, and the body needs a period of time to rest and recover between treatments.

The researchers, all from Harvard, point out that intra-nipple injections spare other parts of the body.

Dr. Silva Krause, one of the researchers behind the experiments, explains:

"Local delivery of therapeutic agents into the breast, through intra-nipple injection, could diminish the side effects typically observed with systemic chemotherapy - where the toxic drugs pass through all of the tissues of the body. It also prevents drug breakdown by the liver, for example, which can rapidly reduce effective drug levels."