Does diet have an impact on breast cancer recurrence - Literature review Example

These factors then influence the recurrence of breast cancer. Therefore, improved diet and increased physical activity lead to reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence. Pathophysiology is the study of the changes that occur in the body as a result of the presence of a given disease. One of the diseases that need to be described using through pathophysiology is the breast cancer. The pathophysiology of breast cancer uncovers the development of breast cancer in the body of a human being so that the necessary treatment and prevention strategies can be enhanced (Nelson et al, 2012).

Breast cancer results from various personal, environmental and hereditary factors. Pathophysiology on breast cancer indicates that the disease develops due to some damages on the DNA including lesions which often occur as a result of genetic mutations. The immune system may also fail to act on cancerous cells, and lead to the development of the disease. Another cause of the disease is the malfunctioning of a growth factor during cell division and growth of the breast. Breast cancer may also be caused by inherited genetic damages on the DNA (Panjari et al, 2012).

Receptors and hormones also play a crucial role in the development of breast cancer. Breast cancer cells have some receptors which may bind hormones and trigger changes in the cell compositions. Some of the receptors include estrogen receptor, HER2 and progesterone receptor. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF), cancer is the leading type of cancer affecting women in the world and the most common cancer overall in terms of prevalence. There were nearly 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 (World Cancer Research Fund International 2012).

The leading country in terms of diagnosed cases is Belgium. United Kingdom was seventh while United States was ninth. About 3.2 million people with cancer in developed countries still