Literature review on breast cancer risk factors

¶ … Breast Cancer

The amount of cancer related research is enormous, and for that reason it becomes a matter urgency that literature reviews are conducted to evaluate the thoroughness, and the extent to which research studies are tangential to furthering the learning and study of cancer for physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel. This means that ongoing literature reviews must be conducted to critique and rate the content and usefulness of the research when medical disciplines are looking to further their knowledge and understanding in the diagnosis, treatment, and the search for the cure for cancer.

Using the online library search engine, Questia, and using the keyword: cancer, the search engine yielded 18,188 books; 7,651 journal articles; 7,607 magazine articles; 51,233 newspaper articles; and 186 encyclopedia articles on the subject. This emphasizes the enormity of the amount of information available. For medical personnel to search through the many volumes of studies and research on the subject, would take years of reading.

Using Questia again, narrowing the search to focus on a specific type of cancer, the keyword: breast cancer, search returned 8,211 books; 1,753 journal articles; 1,362 magazine articles; 9,714 newspaper articles; and 16 encyclopedia articles on the subject. Since Questia is a limited library service, the search on the keyword is no doubt much smaller than the search engine of a major university or college with access to a larger body of academic works. For this study, however, Questia's limited library serves the purpose.

This study is a brief literature of the existing body of work on breast cancer. It will evaluate the works in terms of timeliness, thoroughness, the presentation of new and original data gained through original study design, the audience the study is targeting, (e.g., physicians, nurses, technicians, hospice), and whether or not the ideas are conveyed in a clear and concise way. This is the nature of a literature review that is helpful to professionals who need to keep abreast of the latest studies and information on the subject of breast cancer.

Literature Review

Julene Diedrich, MSN, RN, FNP; Jill Depke, MSN, RN, ANP; and Jessica Engel, MSN, RN, FNP (2007) conducted an informative study that summarized and evaluated the existing body of research on breast cancer risk. Diedrich focused on the relationship between socioeconomic status and nutrition. About one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, this is the most common type of cancer among females in the United States. Diedrich's study begins by clearly stating the problem, which is that the high incidence of breast cancer among American women, then segueing to the thesis of the study, the relationship between socioeconomic status, nutrition, and breast cancer.

As a review of the existing body of work that Diedrich and Depke reviewed, the study is thorough. Unfortunately, however, the reader is limited to the works selected by Diedrich and Depke for their review. It would be impossible for this review to be inclusive of the vast body of work that is available on the subject of breast cancer. It is useful, however, in helping medical personnel determine if the particular study cited in this work is one that might prove useful to the medical practitioner's current problem, patient, or other focus in his or her work and continuing education.

A journal article appearing in Family Planning Perspectives, by D. Hollander (2002), studies the risk factor for breast cancer for women who breast feed, versus those who do not breast feed. The article is brief, targeting the mother-to-be, or the new mother. The article does not give D. Hollander's credentials for writing this article, but the writer's credentials probably are along the lines of journalism, if a degree at all, because the article cites professional studies in a very limited way, using a simplistic layperson language. The article relies on a single source.

Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer, by Dr. M. Margaret Kemeny, Paula Dranov, and Mona Mark (1992) is a study on breast cancer that covers all aspects of the disease, including risk and the relationship of risk to nutrition and poverty. Much of the work is concerned with nutrition, but the study relies on other studies that were conducted by nutritionists and other researchers. The book is targeting women, not professionals. Even so, this book is useful for the professional looking to pursue continuing education on the subject of nutrition and breast cancer.

This book includes as one of the authors, the work of Dr. M. Margaret Kemeny, and for that reason, it is able to draw upon Dr. Kemeny's experience and expertise as acquired through her work with her own patients. This is a valid and reliable source, but there is no quantitative or qualitative work in the book. For that reason, this book is recommended for the layperson as opposed to the professional.