Insurance Status Predicts Survival in Women with Breast Cancer: Results of Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program in California.

Background And Purpose: The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (BCCTP) Act, passed by Congress in 2000, provides time-limited coverage to uninsured breast or cervical cancer patients. We examine survival differences between BCCTP cases and insured controls.

Methods: Stage I-III breast cancer patients, covered under California's BCCTP from 2005 to 2009 (N = 6343), were 1:1 matched with California Cancer Registry controls on age, race/ethnicity, and cancer stage.

Marginal zinc intake reduces the protective effect of lactation on mammary gland carcinogenesis in a DMBA-induced tumor model in mice.

Breastfeeding can reduce breast cancer risk; however, unknown factors modify this protective effect. Zinc (Zn) modulates an array of cellular functions including oxidative stress, cell proliferation, motility and apoptosis. Marginal Zn intake is common in women and is associated with breast cancer.

Paradoxical zinc toxicity and oxidative stress in the mammary gland during marginal dietary zinc deficiency.

Zinc (Zn) regulates numerous cellular functions. Zn deficiency is common in females; ∼80% of women and 40% of adolescent girls consume inadequate Zn. Zn deficiency enhances oxidative stress, inflammation and DNA damage.

Prolactin receptor attenuation induces zinc pool redistribution through ZnT2 and decreases invasion in MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells.

Prolactin receptor (PRL-R) activation regulates cell differentiation, proliferation, cell survival and motility of breast cells. Prolactin (PRL) and PRL-R over-expression are strongly implicated in breast cancer, particularly contributing to tumor growth and invasion in the more aggressive estrogen-receptor negative (ER-) disease. PRL-R antagonists have been suggested as potential therapeutic agents; however, mechanisms through which PRL-R antagonists exert their actions are not well-understood.