Providence, RI ?V Breast cancer awareness month may have passed, but researchers remain focused on the disease with a new study showing that a unique estrogen receptor found in breast cancer tumors is a predictor of tumor size and metastases. The study, led by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, is published in the November 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
The Commonwealth Government will add two drugs for the treatment of breast cancer to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). From 1 December, exemestane (Aromasin?) and letrozole (Femara?) will be listed for the treatment of hormone-dependent early breast cancer in post-menopausal women.
A meta-analysis published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicts oral contraceptives as putting premenopausal women at significantly increased risk for breast cancer, especially women who use them prior to having a child.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have for the first time described how multiple copies of a gene are responsible for metastases in early-stage breast cancer and poor prognosis for patients. In a study published in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the gene, called uPAR, offers a promising target for therapeutic drugs to stop or slow the progression of the disease and could serve as a screening tool for assessing which types of drugs a patient will respond to.
A new study investigating the effects of chemotherapy on cognitive function in mice has confirmed what many cancer patients receiving treatment have often complained about ? a decline in their memory and other cognitive functions, sometimes characterized as “chemobrain”.
Women undergoing radiation treatment for breast cancer benefit from moderate intensity, regular aerobic activity, according to a new study. A peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study found that exercise improved the oxygen capacity of patients and maintained levels of red blood cells during radiation treatment. In contrast, women who did not exercise experienced significant declines in their oxygen capacity. This is the first study to investigate the effect of exercise during treatment.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care have published an update of its familial breast cancer guideline.
Malignancies of the breast can be more aggressive and associated with poorer outcome in African-Americans than other races, according to a new study. Published in the December 1, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reviewed patient data from two different clinical trial protocols – to control for healthcare access biases – and found that African-Americans have tumors with poorer prognostic cellular characteristics and more aggressive clinical presentations, pointing to the possibility that racially influenced tumor biology may contribute to observed racial disparities in breast cancer outcome.
While some breast cancer survivors could benefit from adding aromatase inhibitors to the standard five years of tamoxifen, a new study shows the additional therapy should be weighed carefully for each individual. Writing in the December 1, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study’s authors say potential improvement in cancer-free survival beyond 5 years with the added therapy may be less than 2 percent for most patients.
Women should be aware that not every type of breast cancer reveals itself with a lump during self exams. An aggressive, fast-spreading form called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) grows in nests or sheets of cancer cells that spread through the breast. Because it is relatively rare, IBC is often diagnosed late or even misdiagnosed as an infection.