Health
Actress Olivia Munn credits breast cancer risk-assessment score for saving her life
Olivia Munn claims that her breast cancer risk-assessment score helped save her life.
The actress, 43, shared on social media this week that the score helped detect her breast cancer just months after she had a negative mammogram and tested negative on several genetic tests.
The high-risk score prompted Munn’s physician to send her for further evaluations — including an MRI and ultrasound that detected cancer in both breasts, according to her Instagram post on Wednesday.
OLIVIA MUNN DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER
“She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%,” Munn wrote.
“Because of that score, I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy. The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast-moving cancer.”
What is the breast cancer risk assessment score?
While there are several risk assessment tools available to patients and physicians, the breast cancer risk assessment tool (BCRAT), also known as the Gail Model, is one of the most common.
The test, which takes about five minutes to complete, helps predict a female’s risk of developing an invasive breast cancer within the next five years and up to 90 years of age, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
John Mulaney and Olivia Munn attend the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 10, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. Munn claims that her breast cancer risk assessment score helped save her life.
BCRAT calculates the woman’s “absolute breast cancer risk,” which the organization defines on its website as the “chance or probability of developing invasive breast cancer in a defined age interval.”
The risk calculator tool looks at several factors, including age, race, medical history and reproductive history.
It also looks at the presence of a family history of breast cancer among first-degree relatives, such as mothers, sisters and daughters.
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The information is then calculated.
A five-year risk score of 1.67% or more is considered high-risk, and a health care provider may recommend certain medications to decrease the chances of developing cancer, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, M.D., board-certified breast imaging radiologist and associate professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, recommends individual risk assessments to her referring clinicians and patients.
“Olivia Munn’s doctor may have saved her life by doing so,” Saphier said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, M.D., board-certified breast imaging radiologist and associate professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, said she recommends individual risk assessments to her referring clinicians and patients. (Fox News)
“While a standard mammogram is sufficient for nearly half of all women, many others will benefit from adding an ultrasound or MRI based on breast density and various other factors that may make someone higher risk.”
Less than 5% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer will have cancer in the contralateral (opposite) breast, Saphier pointed out.
“Olivia Munn was one of those rare cases.”
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Dr. Ruth Oratz, a breast medical oncologist at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City, told Fox News Digital that if a patient uses the risk assessment herself and finds that she is at increased risk of breast cancer, she should discuss this with her physician.
“The doctor can then do a more detailed evaluation as to her breast cancer risk,” Oratz said.
“For example, if there is a family history of breast cancer, then the patient may be referred for genetic testing. This information may give a more specific evaluation of the patient’s risk of breast, or even other types, of cancer.”
Less than 5% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer will have cancer in the contralateral (opposite) breast — which means Olivia Munn’s case was rare, a doctor noted. (Instagram: Olivia Munn)
Another breast cancer specialist told Fox News Digital that the risk of cancer could vary widely among women.
The average woman’s risk is approximately 10% to 12% at the lowest end of the spectrum, according to Dr. Elisa Port, chair of breast surgery for The Mount Sinai Health System and director of the Dubin Breast Center in New York City.
“By contrast, the highest identifiable risk is associated with BRCA mutation carriers,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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“For them, the risk of getting breast cancer can be as high as 60% to 80%.”
She added, “Women who are not genetic mutation carriers might still be at increased risk of getting breast cancer based on a variety of other factors.”
Munn tested negative for the BRCA mutation gene, according to her Instagram post.
“While a standard mammogram is sufficient for nearly half of all women, many others will benefit from adding an ultrasound or MRI based on breast density and various other factors that may make someone higher risk,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“The largest drivers of increased risk include having a family history of breast cancer on either a mother or father’s side, having previous breast biopsies, and importantly, if any of those biopsies showed findings of atypical cells,” Port said.
Other factors that are of lower added risk include age at onset of menstruation, the number of children a woman has had, and her age at first childbearing.
Potential limitations
There are some limitations to the BCRAT.
The tool is not accurate when it comes to estimating the risk in women who tested positive for the breast cancer-producing mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, those with a history of invasive or in situ breast cancer (in the milk ducts), and certain subgroups, according to the NCI.
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“If a woman knows she has a BRCA or other genetic mutation, then the breast cancer risk assessment is not really accurate,” Oratz said in her statement to Fox News Digital.
“She should then discuss her cancer risk with her team of health care providers.”
Although this tool may accurately estimate a woman’s chances of breast cancer, it does not determine whether she will actually develop the disease, the NCI stated.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. (iStock)
BCRAT also underestimates risk in Black women who had previous biopsies and Hispanic women born outside the United States, the organization noted.
Risk estimates for American Indian/Alaska Native women are partly based on data for White women due to limited data for this demographic and may be inaccurate.
Further studies are needed, according to the Institute.
For women with a genetic mutation, the risk of getting breast cancer can be as high as 60% to 80%.
While all risk assessment tools have limitations, they can still play a role in cancer prevention, breast cancer specialists told Fox News Digital.
“These models can help identify women at increased risk, allowing for more personalized and tailored screening,” Port said.
It is important for women to discuss risk assessment scores with a health care provider to determine next steps, Oratz added.
A five-year risk score of 1.67% or more is considered high-risk, and a health care provider may recommend certain medications to decrease the chances of developing cancer, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website. (iStock)
“If someone is at significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer, then she should review with her doctor consideration of recommendations for increased screening and surveillance,” she said.
For women with genetic mutations that are very high risk, they should see a breast cancer specialist to discuss other options, she recommended.
Controllable factors
Depending on individual risk levels, there are steps a woman can take to help lower the possibility of developing breast cancer, health experts told Fox News Digital.
Eating a healthy diet and staying active can help reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer, experts agreed. (iStock)
“It is important to have a healthy body weight and not be overweight,” Oratz said.
It is also important to eat a healthy diet that limits sugar, fat and alcohol.
“Alcohol is a significant risk factor for breast cancer,” Oratz noted. “We recommend that women do not drink alcohol every day and have not more than one or two drinks on the days that they do drink.”
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“Remaining physically fit with exercise and some weight training to maintain muscle mass and strength also contributes to general overall health,” the expert added.
In some cases, medications may help lower the risk of breast cancer, but individuals should discuss this with their health care provider, according to Oratz.
In some cases, medications may help lower the risk of breast cancer, but each individual should discuss this with a health care provider, an expert said. (iStock)
When it comes to assessing the risk of developing breast cancer, risk assessment scores can help health care providers come up with a plan for monitoring, diagnosis and early treatment, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
Cancer risk is not one size fits all, Saphier pointed out.
“Even though one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, there are many different types of breast cancer and they can occur at just about any age,” she said.
“After a breast cancer diagnosis, the risk of it returning never goes to zero, but early diagnosis and intervention give the option for less invasive treatments and the best chance of survival,” she said.
“In Olivia Munn’s case, she has taken every action possible to see her son grow up.”
Munn’s son Malcolm was born in November 2021.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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