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A team of scientists led by Mount Sinai in New York City shed light on how pre-malignant cells can spread from early stage breast cancer to other parts of the body.
These pre-malignant cells lie dormant and can later reactivate and cause disease relapse.
The NR2F1 gene normally prevents pre-malignant cells from spreading to other parts of the body.
A cancer gene, HER2, suppresses the NR2F1 gene, allowing pre-cancerous cells to move to other organs of the body where they can become cancerous.

A consultant analyzing a mammogram.
Rui Vieira | PA Wire | Getty Images

Scientists have shed new light on how early stage breast cancer spreads to other organs undetected, which can cause fatal metastatic cancer in some women years later.
Before a breast cancer tumor is even detected, cells that are not yet malignant can spread to other organs where they lie dormant and don’t replicate, according to new research led by Maria Soledad Sosa, a professor at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute in New York City.

The NR2F1 gene normally prevents pre-malignant cells from spreading to other parts of the body.
Sosa and a team of scientists found that a cancer gene, HER2, suppresses the NR2F1 gene, allowing pre-cancerous cells to move to other organs of the body where they can become cancerous.
“Evidence is suggesting that even before a primary tumor is detectable, you can have cells that disseminate also to secondary organs and they can eventually also form metastasis,” Sosa said. The lungs, the bones and the brain are common places for breast cancer to metastasize, or spread.
The team’s research was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research. The lab study was conducted using samples of an early form of breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, as well as cancer lesions from mice.
Sosa, the study’s lead author, said understanding the mechanism that allows the pre-malignant cells to spread throughout the body could one day help determine which women are at a higher risk for breast cancer relapse. If a patient is showing low levels of NR2F1, it could be a sign that dormant cancer cells are spreading in the body where they can reactivate later and cause disease.

The study’s findings could have an impact on how women diagnosed with DCIS are treated. DCIS is an abnormal cell growth in the lining of the breast’s milk duct that has not developed into a malignant tumor. DCIS is traditionally considered noninvasive, meaning the abnormal cells haven’t spread yet. However, research by Sosa’s team and others is challenging that notion.
More than 51,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with DCIS this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Many women diagnosed with DCIS undergo either surgery or radiation or both. However, women diagnosed with DCIS who undergo these treatments still have about a 3% chance of dying from breast cancer 20 years after their diagnosis, according to a seminal study published in Jama Oncology in 2015.
More than 150 women in the study who had their breast removed still died from cancer, which means disease had likely spread at the time of detection. The scientists concluded that the classification of DCIS as noninvasive should be reconsidered, warning that some cases of the carcinoma have an inherent potential for distant spread to other parts of the body.
“Even though they do the surgery of DCIS or sometimes it’s treated with radiotherapy, the mortality rate doesn’t change. This is telling you that it doesn’t matter what is there in your primary site,” Sosa said. The problem is that the abnormal cells are spreading from the carcinoma, she said.

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Delta says it will start paying flight attendants during boarding, a first for a U.S. carrier.
The announcement came amid a unionization drive.
Delta is the only major U.S. airline whose flight attendants aren’t unionized.

Flight attendants wearing protective masks walk through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines said it will start paying flight attendants during boarding, a first for a major U.S. airline and an initiative that comes during a unionization drive for the Atlanta-based airline’s biggest work group.
Usually, flight attendants are paid starting when the aircraft doors close.

Delta plans to begin the boarding pay, half of flight attendants’ hourly rates, on June 2, according to a company memo. The carrier is also increasing boarding time for narrow-body flights to 40 minutes from 35, which the company says is “one of several steps we’re taking to add resiliency to our operation.”
The pay changes were announced as a union campaign by the Association of Flight Attendants that started in late 2019 picks up steam again as the Covid pandemic crisis wanes for airlines.
Delta’s more than 20,000 flight attendants are not unionized, unlike at other major U.S. airlines.
“As we get closer to filing for our union vote, management is getting nervous,” the AFA said late Monday in a statement. The organization is the country’s largest flight attendants union, representing cabin crews at United, Spirit, Hawaiian, Alaska and Frontier, among others.
“In this case, they also know that changing domestic boarding time from 35 to 40 minutes without adding a benefit would create an uproar — just as the ‘test’ in Atlanta did back in October,” the AFA said, referring to a test of the new procedure last fall.
The boarding pay is on top of the 4% raises Delta announced in March, employees’ first annual increase since 2019.

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Warner Bros. Discovery reported a 13% revenue jump and consistent streaming subscriber growth for its fiscal first quarter Tuesday.
The results don’t include first-quarter performance from WarnerMedia, which Discovery bought this month.
Ahead of an HBO Max-Discovery+ combination, the company began winding down promotion around Discovery+.

David Zaslav
Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

Warner Bros. Discovery reported a 13% revenue jump and consistent streaming subscriber growth for its fiscal first quarter Tuesday. The results don’t include first-quarter performance from WarnerMedia, which Discovery bought this month.
The company reported revenue of $3.16 billion and net income of $456 million. Shares rose as much as 2% in premarket trading.

Here are the key numbers:

Earnings per share: 69 cents, compared with 21 cents in last year’s first quarter
Revenue: $3.16 billion, compared with $2.79 billion in last year’s first quarter
Discovery streaming customers: 24 million, up 2 million from the prior quarter

The newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery, a result of the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger that closed April 8, debuts as a pure-play media company that investors can compare to Disney, Netflix and Paramount Global. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav hopes to show Wall Street the new entity’s assets, including streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+, can compete globally for market share against the biggest entertainment companies in the world.
“We are putting together the strategic framework and organization to drive our balanced approach to growing our businesses and maximizing the value of our storytelling, news and sports,” Zaslav said in a statement. “I could not be more excited about the massive opportunity ahead.”
The combined WarnerMedia-Discovery company has a market valuation of more than $50 billion.

Streamlining streaming

Zaslav took his first steps toward streamlining the company’s operations last week when he shut down CNN+ just weeks after its launch.

Zaslav plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into a bundled streaming service. The company hasn’t announced if the new combined product will be renamed or when that change will take place.
“We will clearly take swift and decisive action on certain items, as you saw last week with CNN+,” Zaslav said on the company’s earnings call.
Ahead of that effort, Discovery began winding down promotion around Discovery+ during the first quarter. The company said selling, general and administrative expenses in the period dropped 25%, primarily due to lower marketing-related expenses for Discovery+ compared with last year’s launch period.
Warner Bros. Discovery said it added 2 million Discovery-related streaming subscribers in the quarter for a total of 24 million. That’s consistent with the 2 million added in the fourth quarter.
Last week, AT&T said HBO and HBO Max had 76.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2022. The announcement marked the final time WarnerMedia would be part of AT&T’s earnings report.
WATCH: Why CNN+ is shutting down

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PepsiCo topped Wall Street’s estimates for its first-quarter earnings and revenue.
The company raised its full-year forecast for organic revenue growth.
Pepsi reported a $193 million impairment charge, after taxes, as it tries to discontinue or reposition some of its juice and dairy brands in Russia.

Pepsi products are displayed for sale in a Target store on March 8, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

PepsiCo on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations, as consumers paid more for their Doritos, Quaker oatmeal and Gatorade.
On the heels of its strong performance, the company raised its full-year forecast for organic revenue growth.

Shares of the company were essentially flat in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $1.29 adjusted vs. $1.23 expected
Revenue: $16.2 billion vs. $15.56 billion expected

Pepsi announced first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $4.26 billion, or $3.06 per share, up from $1.71 billion, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier.
The food and beverage giant reported a $193 million impairment charge after taxes as it tries to discontinue or reposition some of its juice and dairy brands in Russia. The charge dragged down its earnings by 14 cents per share. An additional impairment charge of $241 million after taxes related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict weighed on its earnings by 17 cents per share.
“We don’t expect the business to deliver a lot of growth this year, given all of the challenges and the decisions we’ve made,” CFO Hugh Johnston told analysts on the conference call.

In March, Pepsi joined a host of other Western companies in suspending some of its Russian business but fell short of halting sales entirely like rival Coca-Cola. Pepsi generates roughly 4% of its annual revenue in Russia, making the country one of the few markets where it has a bigger presence than Coke. The company said it will keep selling some essential products, like baby formula, milk and baby food.
Excluding the sale of its juice business, the Russian impairment charge and other items, the company earned $1.29 per share, topping the $1.23 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 9.3% to $16.2 billion, beating expectations of $15.56 billion. Organic revenue climbed 13.7% in the quarter, fueled largely by higher prices.
Executives said that convenience stores are seeing less foot traffic as fuel prices climb, but consumer behavior hasn’t changed meaningfully yet.
The company’s North American beverage business reported volume growth of 3%. This quarter marked the launch of Pepsi’s foray into alcohol with Hard Mtn Dew, made in partnership with Boston Beer. CEO Ramon Laguarta said the new drink has had a “pretty good response” from consumers, but it’s too early yet to call it a big success.
“There’s a lot of initial trial,” he said. “As always in these circumstances, we have to weigh it and see if it repeats and see really where the business stabilizes.”
Frito-Lay North America saw volume increase just 1% in the quarter, although the segment’s organic revenue climbed 14%. The company said Doritos, Lay’s, Ruffles and Cheetos all saw double-digit revenue growth.
Quaker Foods was the only North American business unit to report shrinking volume during the quarter. The segment has struggled to hold onto the consumers it gained during the early days of the Covid pandemic, when more people were eating breakfast at home. Still, Pepsi said it gained market share in the rice and pasta, light snacks, ready-to-eat cereal and snack bar categories.
For the full year, Pepsi now expects organic revenue growth of 8%, up from its prior forecast of 6%. Johnston said the revised forecast is due both to rising prices and increased volume. The company reiterated its forecast for full-year core earnings per share growth of 8%.
Read the full press release here.

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There’s growing concern among Wall Street analysts that higher costs and supply chain disruptions will put pressure on 2022 earnings for General Motors and Ford Motor.
Ahead of the Detroit automakers’ first-quarter earnings reports this week, several analysts cited such problems, including inflation and parts disruptions.
GM reports first-quarter results after the market close Tuesday, followed by Ford on Wednesday.

The General Motors world headquarters office is seen at Detroit’s Renaissance Center.
Paul Hennessy | LightRocket | Getty Images

DETROIT – There’s growing concern among Wall Street analysts that higher costs and supply chain disruptions will put pressure on 2022 earnings for General Motors and Ford Motor — even more than initially expected.
Ahead of the Detroit automakers’ first-quarter earnings reports this week, several analysts cited such problems, including inflation and parts disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, as concerns for the companies and broader automotive industry.

JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman on Monday trimmed first-quarter estimates for both GM and Ford for the second time.
“Commodity prices have since stabilized but remain elevated and volatile and suppliers are surely requesting higher prices from both GM and Ford to help compensate for an increasing array of non-commodity supply chain costs,” he said.

JPMorgan now expects first-quarter earnings per share for GM of $1.52, down from $1.58 and below the $1.68 average of forecasts compiled by Refinitiv. It lowered its forecast for Ford to 41 cents a share, down from 52 cents but slightly higher than the 38 cents per share expected by Refinitiv consensus estimates.
GM reports first-quarter results after the market close Tuesday, followed by Ford on Wednesday.
Evercore ISI in a note to investors last week said it expects Ford to cut its 2022 outlook due to the growing number of problems facing the company. It cited the company’s exposure to supply chain problems in Europe due to the war and the increased cost of aluminum used in its top-selling F-Series pickups, among other issues.

In early March, Ford reaffirmed its expectations of a pretax profit between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion for the year. However supply chain problems have only gotten more complex since then, according to analysts.

GM previously forecast a pretax profit of $13 billion to $15 billion for 2022, but Evercore ISI said it’s “not quite clear” whether the company would suffer “a small potential cut” to its top end guidance. GM has far less exposure to Europe than Ford and other automakers but continues to face supply chain problems in China and North America.
BofA Securities analyst John Murphy said, in general, initial guidance by many automotive companies are “now too optimistic” given the litany of problems facing the auto industry.
“Given the ongoing global semiconductor shortage, incremental Covid-19 outbreaks and subsequent shutdowns in Asia, heightened geopolitical tension because of the Ukraine-invasion, and a plethora of other supply chain disruptions, general sentiment across the industry (corporates, investors, etc.) remains very cautious,” he wrote last week in an investor note.
Europe-based BofA analyst Horst Schneider on Tuesday downgraded Stellantis from “buy” to “neutral” due to its exposure to Europe and supply chain problems.
Stellantis, which was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA in January 2021, is scheduled to release its first-quarter shipments and revenue on May 5.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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Life Changes

Summer vacations could be upended this year. This time, blame inflation.
Rising prices may prompt vacation goers to take fewer trips and travel shorter distances.
If you still plan to go, there are ways you may look to save.

kate_sept2004

Summer vacations plans could be in flux this year.
This time, it’s not because of Covid-19. Instead, high prices due to inflation may prompt prospective travel goers to switch up their plans.

In fact, 69% of adults who say they will take a vacation this summer anticipate changing their travel plans as prices have soared to record high levels, a survey from Bankrate.com finds.
In the battle between pent-up demand that has built up over the past couple of years and soaring costs, the desire to travel may still win out for many people, predicts Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com.

More from Life Changes:

Here’s a look at other stories offering a financial angle on important lifetime milestones.

The top changes people indicated they may make include taking fewer trips and traveling shorter distances.
The most common destinations people are eyeing this summer include beaches, with 37% of respondents; staycations, 28%; and cities, 27%. Meanwhile, 21% plan to visit national parks, 17% plan to stay at campgrounds, 14% will visit amusement parks, 12% will travel internationally and 11% plan to take a cruise.
Still, not everyone is planning a summer escape.

Those more likely to plan a jaunt include adults with annual household incomes of $100,000 and up, with 75% of those respondents. In comparison, 56% of those earning less than $50,000 plan to take a trip.

Parents of children under 18 are also more likely to plan a vacation this summer, with 75%, versus 61% of parents with adult children at and 56% of non-parents.
Younger adults are also more likely to say they are very or somewhat likely to take a summer getaway, with 72% of Gen Zers ages 18 to 25 and 65% of millennials ages 26 to 41. Meanwhile, 61% of Gen Xers ages 42 through 57 and 58% of baby boomers ages 58 to 76 said the same.
To be sure, those plans could be subject to change as the summer season approaches. The online survey, which included 2,676 adults, was conducted between March 30 and April 1.
A CNBC + Acorns Invest in You survey, conducted by Momentive in March, found 40% of U.S. adults said they would cancel a vacation or trip if consumer prices continue to rise. 

If you are planning to hit the road, you may want to consider a few cost-saving moves, Rossman said.

Look for deals where possible

Prices everywhere are higher. Yet areas that are still seeing less foot traffic due to the pandemic may be more inclined to offer deals.
“If you’re not necessarily wedded to any particular destination, maybe let the flight and hotel deals guide you,” Rossman said.

Scout out credit card rewards perks

Getty Images

It’s never a good idea to take on high interest credit-card balances you cannot pay off immediately.
But if you have the financial flexibility and can afford to take on that debt responsibly, you may want to consider a new credit card with a signup bonus, airline miles or cash back, Rossman said.
“There are a lot of good deals out there right now,” Rossman said.

Don’t let work vacation days go to waste

Bankrate’s survey found 30% of workers with paid vacation time will use less than half of it this year.
“That’s a real missed opportunity,” Rossman said.
Instead of leaving paid vacation time on the table, find a trip within your budget and go, even if it is just a staycation, he suggested. More

Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading.
PepsiCo – Shares of the food and beverage giant dipped in the premarket although the company reported a beat on the top and bottom lines in the recent quarter as consumers paid more for some of the company’s key brands.

General Electric – General Electric’s stock fell 3.5% despite topping estimates in its quarterly report. The company confirmed its previous full-year profit guidance range and said it sees challenges from inflation and supply chain issues.
United Parcel Services — Shares of the shipping and logistics giant gained 1.7% after beating analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines. UPS reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.05 on revenues of $24.38 billion while analysts expected $2.88 earnings per share on $23.79 billion in revenue.
3M – 3M shares were flat premarket after reporting quarterly earnings that topped estimates. The company saw revenues of $8.83 billion while analysts expected $8.74 billion in revenue.
D.R. Horton — The homebuilder stock rose 2.8% during premarket trading after beating analyst estimates in the previous quarter. D.R. Horton reported adjusted earnings of $4.03 a share on revenues of $8 billion. Analysts anticipated $3.37 adjusted earnings per share on $7.62 billion in revenue.
SeaWorld — The theme park and entertainment company’s stock surged 4.6% after Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage with a buy and said despite pandemic headwinds the company has faired well under the vision of big investor Scott Ross.

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Nearly one in three travelers turn to social media for holiday inspiration, according to a new study.
The figures are even higher for younger travelers. Some 60% of Gen Zs and 40% of millennials use social media for travel purposes, according to an April 2022 report by the travel company Arrivia.

On TikTok alone, the hashtag “travel” boasts 74.4 billion views, while some 624 million Instagram posts are about travel too.
But there’s a darker side to social media’s flawless travel photos. Expectations may not match reality, with many photographs edited to look better than they actually are.
Disappointed travelers are now striking back, using the very mediums that led them astray. They are publishing their own videos that show what immaculate places on social media actually look like in real life.

A town from a Disney movie?

A TikTok video inspired 26-year-old Olivia Garcia, a graphic designer and YouTuber from South Florida, to take a one-hour detour from her road trip, she said.
Showing snowcapped mountains and a town seemingly ripped from the script of a Disney movie, the video captured the supposed beauty of Gastonia, a small city in North Carolina. Garcia said she needed no more convincing to visit.

The only problem? The imagery in the video was actually Switzerland.
It was part of a tongue-in-cheek video series on TikTok in which a user labeled some of the most beautiful and recognizable spots in Europe as places in North Carolina. One video named the soaring Milan Cathedral as the “the new Bass Pro shops at Concord Hills Mall, near Charlotte.”
“We get into town, and it was just a normal town,” said Garcia. “There were no mountains. It wasn’t like the video.”

Garcia made a humorous TikTok video documenting her visit to the city, showing a dirty gas station and rundown buildings, though she noted she did focus on the “not so nice” areas of Gastonia.
“You always think like, okay, you see this happen to other people, but it never happens to you — I’m smart enough to know when things are real and when things aren’t real,” she said.
Since her video went viral, Garcia has spoken to the mayor of Gastonia, who offered to take her on a tour of the town if she returns. She also appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to share her experience.
“Do your research … because you might end up somewhere you don’t want to be,” Garcia said. “[And] don’t believe everything you see on the internet.”

A ‘beautiful, hidden garden pool’

Thirty-year-old travel blogger Lena Tuck also fell victim to a glamourized TikTok video.
While driving from Brisbane to Melbourne, Tuck said, she made an impromptu decision to visit a “beautiful, hidden garden pool” that she had seen on TikTok — the Yarrangobilly Caves thermal pool walk.

“It looked like this out of world place where topless men would be feeding you grapes or something like that,” she said.
But on the drive there, her phone lost reception — which meant she had no directions to guide her — and she had to drive on a rough, unpaved road for 10 minutes before trekking nearly half a mile down a steep hill.
When she reached the pool, she was surprised to find it packed with families and screaming children, much like a public swimming pool, she said.
“All I can think about is how many people have peed in here,” she said in a TikTok video describing the experience.
“It’s … the absolute antithesis of an Instagram experience, and I feel like that’s why the whole experience was just so funny,” she told CNBC.
She said she thinks people should be spontaneous and open-minded, but cautioned travelers to “do more research than I probably did.”

Ethereal waters

Photos of Terme di Saturnia, a group of springs in the Tuscany region of Italy, show beautiful blue water with steam gently rising from it.
But this couldn’t be further from reality, said 28-year-old Ana Mihaljevic.

Her visit was “highly” influenced by social media posts that show an “almost idyllic” scene, the self-employed project manager and digital marketer said.
But the water was green, smelled like rotten eggs because of sulfur, and was filled with visitors posing for photos, presumably for social media, Mihaljevic said.
“It’s most certainly not a place to relax,” she added.
Markus Romischer, a 29-year-old travel filmmaker agreed that the springs looked different on social media. He made a video, tagged “Insta vs. Reality: Europe Edition,” that showed his disappointment in the Tuscan springs, as well as spots in Switzerland, Madeira and Rome.

Once he saw it in real life, he said he could tell online pictures had been heavily photoshopped. The springs are “warm, the color was special, but when you only see those social media pictures” the reality is “a little bit sad,” he said.
Early mornings are far less crowded, said Romischer. When he arrived at 6:00 a.m., there were few people — mostly “grannies” — but the afternoon was a different story, he said.
“At midday, so [many] buses came from everywhere, and it was so full,” he said.
Tourist attractions will always be crowded, said Romischer, who shared one tip for avoiding crowds: “Don’t Google ‘what to do in Tuscany’ and go to the first place on the list.”
Like the others who were duped by social media images, Mihaljevic advises travelers to do their research.
“If you want to travel without research, that’s ok but be prepared that not everything will be as you saw it online,” she said. “Some places will be even better, but some will disappoint.”

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