14 DAY TRIAL // It is a well-known fact that applying pressure on various parts of one's body changes the way in which an individual feels and moves, yet a new study claims that compressing breasts can actually help keep cancer from setting in.
The specialists who looked into this issue presented their findings during the latest meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco.
Thus, they argued that, as the tests they carried out as part of this research have shown, a gentle squeeze is more than enough to prevent the malignant cells found in one's breast from triggering cancer, sources report.
Apparently, this is because the pressure applied to an individual's chest forces the malignant cells to “get back in line” and return to what is considered to be a normal growth pattern.
As doctoral student Mr. Venugopalan puts it, “Malignant cells have not completely forgotten how to be healthy; they just need the right cues to guide them back to a healthy growth pattern.”
In order to prove that pressure can indeed help prevent the development of this type of cancer, the researchers pretty much had to engineer their own test breast. Thus, they grew malignant epithelial cells in a gel that was placed inside silicone chambers.
When the malignant cells grown in this manner had pressure applied to them, they began to grow in a more orderly way.
“People have known for centuries that physical force can influence our bodies,” specialist Gautham Venugopalan says.
Furthermore, “When we lift weights our muscles get bigger. The force of gravity is essential to keeping our bones strong. Here we show that physical force can play a role in the growth - and reversion - of cancer cells.”
It is to be expected that, at some point in the future, these findings will translate into the development of new ways of treating cancer.