A new study provides more evidence that women who are at increased risk of developing breast cancer can significantly reduce their risk by having both breasts removed, a procedure known as bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. The risk reduction in the current study was about 95 percent.
Virginia scientists say a compound derived from a rare South American plant stops the growth of human breast cancer cells in laboratory cultures.
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer is due in part to a group of very small variations in genes which code for a cell’s estrogen receptors, according to a collaborative study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Celera Diagnostics, SAIC-Frederick Inc., Applied Biosystems, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The study appears in the December 15, 2004, issue of Cancer Research.
A new test can predict both the risk of breast cancer recurrence and may identify women who will benefit most from chemotherapy, according to research supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and performed in collaboration with the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and Genomic Health Inc. These results suggest that almost half of 43,000 U.S. women diagnosed with estrogen-dependent, lymph-node negative breast cancer every year are at low risk for recurrence and may not need to go through the discomfort and side effects of chemotherapy.
The causes of breast cancer are still being researched, although it is known that a woman’s lifetime exposure to estrogen and her age at the time of her first childbirth play an important role.
Scientists said they have developed a computer program that can predict whether women have a high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. By using detailed family history, the program called BOADICEA selects women who are most susceptible to the illness and would benefit from further screening or treatment.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of
the National Institutes of Health, have found promising
evidence that immune cell transplant therapy can help
shrink tumors in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Similar therapies, which also involve transplantation of
donated immune cells, have produced dramatic anti-tumor
effects in leukemias and lymphomas-cancers of the blood
and lymph, respectively. However, previous studies have
not proven that such therapies have clinical effects on
breast cancer.
A major new research project into the causes of breast cancer was launched this week. A 50-year project, called The Breakthrough Generations Study, aims to recruit 100,000 women age 18 or older to the largest cohort ever monitored in breast cancer research.
Breast feeding can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who harbor mutations in the BRCA1 gene.
Pain or discomfort usually affecting one or both breasts. This is more common between the ages of 15 and 50.Breast Pain is an extremely common problem. In most women, the pain is cyclical, varying in severity in response to the hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle. This cyclical pain is usually most severe before menstrual periods and tends to affect both breasts.