Breast cancer blog

July 20, 2011, 10:33 PM CT

A new breast cancer drug

A new drug targeting the PI3K gene in patients with advanced breast cancer shows promising results in an early phase I investigational study conducted at Virginia G. Piper Cancer at Scottsdale Healthcare, as per a presentation by oncologist Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff at the 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

The drug under investigation, GDC-0941, manufactured by Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, Calif., targets the PI3K gene, which is abnormal in about 20-30 percent of patients with advanced breast cancer.

In collaboration with the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Mich. and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Mass., Dr. Von Hoff and his team at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials initially tested the drug in 97 patients with various advanced cancers. Patients experienced manageable side effects including diarrhea, nausea, taste alteration, rash, fatigue, itchiness, vomiting and decreased appetite.

The study resulted in significant shrinkage of tumors in two patients - one with advanced cervical cancer and one with advanced breast cancer. Another patient with ampullary cancer of the pancreas is currently on the study with stable disease for more than a year.

Dr. Von Hoff is Physician-In-Chief and Distinguished Professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Chief Scientific Officer at Scottsdale Healthcare and US Oncology. Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials is a partnership between TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare that treats cancer patients with promising new drugs through clinical trials at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Ariz......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

April 3, 2011, 9:00 AM CT

New way to predict breast cancer survival

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered a new way to predict breast cancer survival based on an "immune profile" � the relative levels of three types of immune cells within a tumor. Knowing a patient's profile may one day help guide therapy.

Moreover, the UCSF team showed that they could use drugs to alter this immune profile in mice. Giving these drugs to mice, in combination with chemotherapy, significantly slowed tumor growth, blocked metastasis and helped mice live longer, suggesting that the approach may work in people.

As per UCSF Department of Pathology Professor Lisa Coussens, PhD, who led the research, a clinical trial for women with advanced breast cancer based on this discovery should begin enrolling patients at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and two collaborating institutions later this year.

"If our work translates into the clinic," said Coussens, "it may improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in the therapy of certain cancers".

A research article describing this discovery appears in the inaugural issue of the journal Cancer Discovery today. Coussens also is presenting the results at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Orlando, FL this week......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

March 28, 2011, 7:07 AM CT

Certain breast cancer patients worry excessively

A newly released study has observed that certain types of women with early stage breast cancer are vulnerable to excessive worrying about cancer recurrence. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also indicates that worrying about cancer recurrence can compromise patients' medical care and quality of life.

Thanks to recent medical advances, most women who are diagnosed with early stage breast cancer have a low risk for cancer recurrence. Despite an optimistic future, a number of of these women report that they worry that their cancer will come back. While some worry about cancer recurrence is understandable, for some women these worries can be so strong that they have an impact on what therapys women choose, how often they seek care, and their quality of life as cancer survivors.

Nancy Janz, PhD, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor led a study that investigated whether worry about recurrence was correlation to race and ethnicity, acculturation (the process by which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group), clinical and therapy factors, and how women viewed their experience in the health care system while being treated for breast cancer. The scientists studied 2,290 women with non-metastatic breast cancer who were diagnosed from June 2005 to February 2007 and reported to Detroit or Los Angeles cancer registries. A patient's level of worry was determined by assessing her concern about cancer returning to the same breast, the other breast, and spreading to other parts of the body......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 22, 2011, 7:37 AM CT

Reducing screening mammography errors

Radiologists who interpret a high volume of mammograms may not detect more cancers but are better at determining which suspicious lesions are not cancerous, as per a newly released study published online and in the April print edition of Radiology

"Contrary to our expectations, we observed no clear association between volume and sensitivity," said the study's main author, Diana S.M. Buist, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. "We did, however, find that radiologists with higher interpretive volume had significantly lower false-positive rates and recalled fewer women per cancer detected."

An exam result is considered to be a false positive when further testing is recommended for a suspicious lesion but no cancer is found. In addition to causing anxiety for patients, false positives prompt additional testing that costs approximately $1.6 billion per year, as per Dr. Buist.

The study, partially funded by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, included a review of data from six Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium mammography registries in California, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington and New Mexico.

The scientists examined various measures of interpretive volume in relation to screening performance for 120 radiologists who interpreted 783,965 screening mammograms between 2002 and 2006. Volume was measured in four ways: the number of screening and diagnostic mammograms read by a radiologist annually�both separately and in combination�and the ratio of screening to total (diagnostic plus screening) mammograms. Screening performance was measured by sensitivity (the ability to detect all cancers present) and false-positive and cancer detection rates......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

January 28, 2011, 7:08 AM CT

Protein related to aging holds breast cancer clues

he most common type of breast cancer in older women � estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PR) positive breast cancer has been associated with a protein that fends off aging-related cellular damage.

A newly released study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researcher David Gius, M.D., Ph.D., now shows how a deficiency in this aging-associated protein may set the stage for these tumors to develop.

The findings, published in Molecular Cell, provide information that could assist in the screening, prevention and therapy of these common age-related cancers.

While the young are certainly not spared cancer's wrath, cancer is primarily a disease of aging, with the majority of cases occurring in people over 50.

However, the biological processes that underlie this association are not clear.

"The correlation between aging and cancer is one of the most established phenomena in cancer research," said Gius, associate professor of Cancer Biology, Pediatrics and Radiation Oncology. "The problem to address this clinically significant question is that this field lacks in vivo models to study this".

In the late-1990s, proteins called "sirtuins" were associated with extended lifespan observed in several species maintained on a calorically restricted diet. These nutrient-sensing sirtuin proteins seemed to defend against aging-related cellular damage......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

January 16, 2011, 9:25 PM CT

Combining Targeted Agents To Treat Breast Cancer

A newly released study by Ohio State University cancer scientists provides a rational for treating breast cancer by combining two kinds of targeted agents, one that inhibits an overactive, cancer-causing pathway in cancer cells and one that reverses changes that silence genes that normally prevent cancer. Both types of agents are currently available and being reviewed individually in clinical trials, the scientists note.

The findings, published online in the journal Cancer Research, show that abnormal activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway leads to the silencing of many tumor-suppressor genes that regulate cell proliferation, survival and motility and angiogenesis.

The laboratory and animal study also shows that combining an agent that inhibits PI3K and a drug that reverse the epigenetic changes that cause gene silencing significantly slows tumor growth.

"The link we have uncovered between PI3K/AKT signaling and epigenetic silencing offers a new therapeutic strategy for breast cancer that combines a PI3K/AKT inhibitor and agents that target epigenetic changes," says study leader Tim H-M Huang, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

December 13, 2010, 7:41 AM CT

Breast cancer patients at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome

gene target for drug resistance, a triple-drug cocktail for triple negative breast cancer, and patients' risk for carpal tunnel syndrome are among study highlights scheduled to be presented by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers during the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12. The information is embargoed for the time of presentation at the symposium.

As a number of as half of postmenopausal women taking aromatase inhibitor drugs for breast cancer complain of bothersome musculoskeletal symptoms, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Now, a newly released study by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists shows that a simple test that measures a woman's ability to feel two metal points pressed against her fingertips may help evaluate the risk for developing CTS.

CTS, most often linked to computer keyboard typing, is caused by bone growth in the wrist, compressing nerves and causing radiating arm pain and weak, numb hands and wrists.

For the study, scientists gathered and analyzed information on 104 women participating in a clinical trial of aromatase inhibitors exemestane and letrozole between September 2008 and June 2009. They recorded symptoms of pain and numbness common to carpal tunnel syndrome and also used a disc-criminator, a metal instrument with two sliding prongs used to measure tactile sensitivity. The instrument recorded the shortest distance between the prongs where the women could feel two pressure points versus one, called a two-point discrimination score. The tests were repeated three and six months later......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

December 13, 2010, 7:22 AM CT

Novel imaging technique may reduce lymphedema

ith guidance from a specialized scan, radiation oncologists at Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/) were able to reduce by 55 percent the number of lymph nodes critical for removing fluid from the arm that received damaging radiation doses.

The scientists report that integrating single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with the computerized tomography (CT) scans utilized for breast cancer radiotherapy planning may offer patients substantial protection against lymphedema, an incurable, chronic swelling of tissue that results from damage to lymph nodes sustained during breast cancer radiation. The SPECT-Computerized axial tomography scan pinpoints the precise locations of the lymph nodes that are critical for removing fluid from the arm, allowing physicians to block them, as much as possible, from X-ray beams delivered to the chest.

These findings were presented at the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"In an effort to deliver therapeutic doses of radiation to the breast, lymph nodes under the arm are innocent bystanders that often are irrevocably harmed. Minimizing harm to these nodes during breast cancer therapy is the most effective way we have seen to reduce women's risk of developing lymphedema," says the study's lead investigator, Andrea Cheville, M.D., a consultant in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester/), who specializes in lymphedema management......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

November 8, 2010, 7:34 AM CT

Breast cancer patients prefer silicone

A newly released study has observed that women who receive silicone implants after a double mastectomy are more satisfied with their breasts than women who receive saline implants. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings may help physicians and breast cancer survivors as they together make decisions correlation to postmastectomy reconstructive surgery.

Women who have one or both of their breasts removed as a therapy for breast cancer may wish to undergo breast reconstructive surgery with implants. Such postmastectomy implants appears to be filled with either saline (salt water) or silicone gel, and while both types have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the safety and effectiveness of breast implants remain under close scrutiny. In addition to safety and efficacy, patient satisfaction and quality of life are also important considerations when comparing implant types. To this end, Colleen McCarthy, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City led a team that surveyed 672 women who had undergone postmastectomy reconstructive surgery with implants at one of three centers in North America.

A total of 472 patients in the study completed questionnaires. In 176 women, silicone implants were placed; in 306, saline implants were used. The researchers observed that patients with silicone implants were more satisfied with their reconstructed breasts than patients with saline implants. Receiving radiation treatment after a mastectomy had a significantly negative effect on breast satisfaction in both silicone and saline implant recipients. In addition, for women who received either silicone or saline implants, satisfaction diminished over time......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

October 11, 2010, 7:48 AM CT

Unusual drug-resistant breast cancer

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found how gene expression that may contribute to drug resistance is ramped up in unusual types of breast tumors. Their findings may offer new treatment targets.

The study is reported in the Oct. 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, where it is designated a paper of the week.

Approximately 70 percent of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor. These "ER-positive" tumors commonly respond to hormone-related therapies, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. But not always.

"We were interested in a subset of ER-positive tumors that are uncommonly aggressive and also drug-resistant," said Jonna Frasor, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at the UIC College of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.

Following up on earlier observations that these aggressive ER-positive tumors express genes that respond both to estrogen and inflammatory factors called cytokines, Frasor and her colleagues focused on the gene for a drug-transporter protein which is believed to pump chemotherapy drugs out of tumor cells, making them resistant.

It is unexpected to find estrogen and inflammatory proteins seemingly working together to drive the cancer's aggressiveness, says Madhumita Pradhan, a student in Frasor's lab and first author of the paper. In a number of cases, estrogen is known to be protective against inflammatory processes, Pradhan said......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

September 29, 2010, 11:01 PM CT

Improved survival at every stage of breast cancer

Advances in screening for disease detection, better surgical techniques available to more women, and an increased number of therapies that reduce the risk of relapse in patients with both locally advanced and early stage disease, have collectively contributed to dramatic improvements in breast cancer's survival rates, as per a review of 60 years of patient records at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The single institution study found increases in both five and 10-year survival at every stage of the disease in every decade studied. Aman Buzdar, M.D., professor in MD Anderson's Department of Breast Medical Oncology presented the data in advance of the 2010 Breast Cancer Symposium.

Similar to that of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), MD Anderson's Department of Breast Medical Oncology has maintained a comprehensive database collecting information on incidence, prevalence and mortality since the institution's inception almost 70 years ago. MD Anderson is in a unique position in that it has the largest group in the country, perhaps in the world, committed to the therapy of breast cancer, explains Buzdar.

"The concept of combined, multi-disciplinary approach for the management of breast cancer care, and that of other cancers, was introduced early on and remains the cornerstone of our care," says Buzdar, the study's senior author. "At MD Anderson, new therapeutic advances have long-been incorporated into the clinical care of patients early-on, resulting in improved survival of patients within each stage of disease. Over the years, with the discovery of research milestones, we have published studies looking at MD Anderson patients to determine how these discoveries have impacted their survival"......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

August 24, 2010, 7:02 AM CT

Risky nuclear breast imaging technologies

Some nuclear-based breast imaging exams may increase a woman's risk of developing radiation-induced cancer, as per a special report appearing online and in the recent issue of Radiology However, the radiation dose and risk from mammography are very low.

"A single breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) or positron emission mammography (PEM) examination carries a lifetime risk of inducing fatal cancer greater than or comparable to a lifetime of annual screening mammography starting at age 40," said the study's author, R. Edward Hendrick, Ph.D., clinical professor of radiology at the University of Colorado-Denver, School of Medicine in Aurora, Co.

The risks and benefits of screening mammography are under constant scrutiny. Meanwhile, newer breast imaging technologies, such as BSGI and PEM have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and introduced into clinical practice. Preliminary studies have shown both to be promising at detecting cancer; however, both involve the injection of radioactive material into the patient.

BSGI uses a high-resolution gamma camera that allows for imaging with mild compression of the breast along with an injection of a nuclear radiotracer, which is absorbed at a higher rate by malignant cells. In PEM, radioactive material is injected into the body to measure metabolic activity and determine the presence of disease. Other technologies, still not approved by the FDA, include dedicated breast CT and digital breast tomosynthesis......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

July 13, 2010, 7:04 AM CT

Targeted breast radiation to control cancer

A newly released study of patients with breast cancer at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and the Arizona Oncology Services shows that after almost two years, the radiation given with the Strut-Adjusted Volume Implant (SAVI) controls the rate of cancer and may reduce the complications seen with alternate types of brachytherapy. This study also demonstrates the accuracy and flexibility of the device to maximize the dose to the target tissue and minimize the exposure of healthy surrounding tissue and organs.

"This is the first paper that documents the patients' status after almost two years," said Catheryn Yashar, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and chief of breast and gynecological radiation services at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. "After almost two years, the patients showed that the therapy was well-tolerated without experiencing significant side effects. To date, the control rate of cancer is also very promising".

SAVI, which consists of comfortable, flexible catheters through which radiation is given, provides customized radiation treatment and minimizes exposure to healthy tissue after a woman who has undergone a lumpectomy to remove a malignant tumor. Radiation specialists sometimes decide to give women internal radiation a process called brachytherapy with the goal of giving concentrated doses of radiation to areas of concern while avoiding healthy tissue......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

March 8, 2010, 9:33 AM CT

Radiation after mastectomy may not be needed for most

Patients with breast cancer with early stage disease that has spread to only one lymph node may not benefit from radiation after mastectomy, because of the low present-day risk of recurrence following modern surgery and systemic treatment, a finding that could one day change the course of therapy for thousands of women diagnosed each year, as per scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer.

The research, presented today in the plenary session of the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium, showed that stage I and II patients without spread to axillary lymph nodes or with 1-3 lymph nodes with metastasis who received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy without radiation to the chestwall post-mastectomy had a low overall risk of locoregional recurrences (LRR).

As per Henry Kuerer, M.D., Ph.D., professor and Training Program Director in M. D. Anderson's Department of Surgical Oncology, 90 percent of patients diagnosed with node-positive disease will present with three or fewer nodes. An estimated 47,000 women are diagnosed annually with breast cancer involving 1- 3 lymph nodes. Of those, 30,000 have only one lymph node involvement.

"There is currently no question that radiotherapy after mastectomy is effective at decreasing the chances of LRR and is indicated in patients with breast cancer with lymph node spread in greater than four nodes and where the risk of LRR is higher than 10 to 15 percent. However, the need for post-mastectomy radiation in early stage patients with breast cancer has been a topic of great debate within the cancer community for decades," explained Kuerer, the study's senior author......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 8, 2010, 7:45 AM CT

Few women take tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer

Scientists with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have observed that the prevalence of tamoxifen use for the prevention of breast cancer among women without a personal history of breast cancer is very low.

Tamoxifen can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in women who are at increased risk for developing the disease. Details of this survey are reported in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The low prevalence of tamoxifen use may stem from various sources, which were not investigated in this study, as per the study's coauthor Andrew N. Freedman, Ph.D., chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NCI.

However, he stressed that "counseling individual women about using tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer must include a patient's discussion with her doctor about the drug's risks and benefits, as well as consideration of the patient's personal values, preferences, lifestyle and specific medical situation".

Main author of this study Erika A. Waters, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and his colleagues at the NCI wanted to gain an understanding of how a number of women aged 40 to 79 years were taking tamoxifen for the prevention of breast cancer. They answered this question using data from the National Health Interview Surveys from years 2000 and 2005, which are nationwide surveys designed to be representative of the entire United States. The surveys included more than 10,000 women for each year......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

January 25, 2010, 8:01 AM CT

Genes that cause resistance to breast cancer drugs

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a gene activity signature that predicts a high risk of cancer recurrence in certain breast tumors that have been treated with usually used chemotherapy drugs.

Despite their resistance to drugs of the anthracycline class, the breast cancers bearing this gene signature will probably still be vulnerable to other types of chemotherapy agents, say researchers in a letter to be published in Nature Medicine on its Web site and later in a print edition. Thus, the findings could lead to a genetic test of breast cancers to help physicians choose the best initial therapy for an individual patient.

With this guidance, physicians could avoid the current trial-and-error approach that in some cases exposes patients to the toxic side effects of a cancer drug that is destined to be ineffective. The new report underscores the potential of personalized cancer care, in which knowing the specific molecular features of a patient's cancer helps direct the course of care.

The researchers from the Dana-Farber Women's Cancers Program undertook the studies to search for molecular traits in tumors that cause some patients to suffer recurrences in the wake of breast cancer surgery despite post-surgery, or "adjuvant," chemotherapy, while other patients do well for a number of years......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

December 1, 2009, 8:28 AM CT

Mammography and breast cancer risk in some high-risk women

Low-dose radiation from annual mammography screening may increase breast cancer risk in women with genetic or familial predisposition to breast cancer, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"For women at high risk for breast cancer, screening is very important, but a careful approach should be taken when considering mammography for screening young women, particularly under age 30," said Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide, Ph.D., epidemiologist in the Department of Epidemiology and Radiology at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. "Further, repeated exposure to low-dose radiation should be avoided".

Women who are at high risk for breast cancer need to begin screening at a younger age, because they often develop cancer earlier than women at average risk. However, according to Dr. Jansen-van der Weide and colleagues, young women with familial or genetic predisposition to the disease may want to consider alternative screening methods to mammography, because the benefit of early tumor detection in this group of women may be offset by the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, there is strong evidence supporting the benefits of mammography for women after age 40. However, there are conflicting reports regarding the benefits of mammography for women under 40. Alternative screening methods such as ultrasound and MRI may be made available to younger women, but are generally used as an adjunct to mammography......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

October 6, 2009, 7:51 AM CT

Gene That Regulates Breast Cancer Metastasis

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a key gene (KLF17) involved in the spread of breast cancer throughout the body. They also demonstrated that expression of KLF17 together with another gene (Id1) known to regulate breast cancer metastasis accurately predicts whether the disease will spread to the lymph nodes. Previously, the function of KLF17 had been unknown.

Deaths of most breast-cancer patients are the result of metastasis, a complex, multi-step, and poorly understood process. "Identifying the gene that suppresses the spread of tumor cells and the mechanisms by which this suppression occurs can lead to the discovery of new markers of metastasis and potential targets for cancer prevention and therapy," says Qihong Huang, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor at The Wistar Institute and senior author of the study.

In this study, which appears in the October on-line issue of Nature Cell Biology, Huang and his colleagues introduced a genetic screen targeting 40,000 mouse genes into mammary tumor cells that do not commonly spread, and then transplanted those cells to the mammary fat pads in mice where they would be expected to remain. Through RNA interference (RNAi) technology, they then reduced the expression of a metastasis-suppressor gene in five mice, one of which developed lung metastases in seven weeks. RNA retrieved from the metastasized cells corresponded to KLF17......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 16, 2009, 10:21 PM CT

Genes breast cancer risk

Reporting this week in Nature Genetics, Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D, and his colleagues have identified a region on chromosome 6 that is strongly linked to breast cancer susceptibility in Asian women. This genetic "locus" may help guide efforts to find the specific genes linked with sporadic or non-inherited forms of the disease, the authors suggest.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women worldwide.

Genetics plays an important role in the disease, and a handful of breast cancer susceptibility genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been identified. Mutations in these genes increase risk of inherited forms of breast cancers.

"But the genetic factors identified so far explain only a small percent of all the cases in the general population," said Zheng, an Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, professor of Medicine and the director of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center.

The genetic factors responsible for the vast majority of cases are unclear, "so there has been a lot of interest to identify additional genetic factors for breast cancer," said Zheng, the senior author on the study.

To date, most breast cancer susceptibility genes have been studied primarily in Caucasian or European populations, but women of other ethnic backgrounds may have important genetic differences from these groups, Zheng noted. So the scientists turned to a population of Asian women in Shanghai, China, which they had been studying for more than a decade to identify nutritional, environmental and genetic factors linked to disease risk......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 9, 2009, 6:15 AM CT

Pregnancy has no impact on breast cancer

A newly released study finds women who develop breast cancer while pregnant or soon afterwards do not experience any differences in disease severity or likelihood of survival in comparison to other women with breast cancer. The study is reported in the March 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society.

So-called pregnancy-associated breast cancers (PABC), defined as breast cancer that develops either during or within one year following pregnancy, is relatively rare and presents a dilemma for clinicians. An estimated 0.2 to 3.8 percent of pregnancies are complicated by breast cancer, and approximately 10 percent of patients with breast cancer under age 40 develop the disease during pregnancy. But as age at the time of pregnancy continues to increase, the occurence rate of PABC can be expected to increase.

Prior research has suggested that pregnancy is linked to poorer outcomes among women with breast cancer. To clarify the issue, Drs. George Perkins, Beth Beadle and his colleagues at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center analyzed data from 668 breast cancers in 652 patients aged 35 years or younger. Among that group, 104 breast cancers (15.6 percent) were pregnancy-associated: 51 cancers developed during pregnancy and 53 developed within one year following pregnancy......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 5, 2009, 6:25 AM CT

Breast cancer and ostmenopausal hormone therapy

Women who stopped taking the postmenopausal hormone combination of estrogen plus progestin experienced a marked decline in breast cancer risk which was uncorrelation to mammography utilization change, as per a research studyfrom the Women's Health Initiative led by a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) investigator that was published recently in The New England Journal (NEJM)

"These findings support the hypothesis that the recent reduction in breast cancer incidence in the United States is predominantly correlation to a decrease in combined estrogen plus progestin use," said Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., a LA BioMed chief investigator and main author for the study.

Breast cancer in the United States began to decline in 2003, after the Women's Health Initiative's initial findings that combined hormone treatment was correlation to higher risk of breast cancer and heart problems.

Using data from the Women's Health Initiative's randomized trial and observational study cohort of postmenopausal women on combined hormone treatment, the scientists in the study published recently also observed that continued use of combined estrogen plus progestin after five years about doubles subsequent breast cancer risk each year.

"Postmenopausal women and their physicians should consider these findings in weighing the risks and benefits of combined estrogen plus progestin use, particularly if the women plan to take the medicine for more than five years," said Dr. Chlebowski......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

February 4, 2009, 6:15 AM CT

Those women who need radiation

One-fifth of women who should receive radiation after a mastectomy are not getting this potentially lifesaving treatment, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study looked at 396 women who were treated with a mastectomy for breast cancer. The researchers found that 19 percent of women who fell clearly within guidelines recommending radiation treatment after the mastectomy did not receive that treatment.

Results of the study appear online in the journal Cancer and would be published in the March 15 issue.

Post-mastectomy radiation is known to decrease the risk of cancer returning in the chest wall and has been shown to reduce mortality in high-risk patients, but there's been some debate within the cancer community about who is likely to benefit most. Current guidelines recommend radiation after mastectomy for women who had particularly large tumors or cancer in four or more of their nearby lymph nodes. Even women with fewer positive lymph nodes should strongly consider radiation treatment.

"There's an identifiable high-risk group for whom there's absolutely no debate -- they need radiation after their mastectomy. Even in this group for whom it's crystal clear, we found that only four-fifths were treated. That's not good enough. This is a potentially lifesaving treatment," says lead study author Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., assistant professor of radiation oncology at the U-M Medical School......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

January 6, 2009, 7:23 PM CT

Digital Mammograms: Is it Efficient?

Digital mammograms take longer to interpret than film-screen mammograms, as per a research studyperformed at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

The study included four radiologists who interpreted 268 digital screening mammograms and 189 film-screening mammograms. "The average interpretation time for all of our readers was 240 seconds (4 minutes) for digital screening mammograms and 127 seconds (2 minutes, 7 seconds) for film-screen screening mammograms," said Tamara Miner Haygood, MD, main author of the study. "The digital screening mammograms took nearly twice as long to interpret as the film-screen screening mammograms," said Dr. Haygood.

The study identified factors that might have contributed to the difference in time. "Those factors were the identity of the interpreting radiologist, whether there were older studies available for comparison, whether the radiologist looked for and hung up additional films, how a number of images were obtained and whether the study was normal or not. In each of these situations, the digital images took longer to interpret than the film-screen images," said Dr. Haygood.

"As a result of this study, radiologists should be able to make a more informed choice about whether digital of film-screen mammograms are right for their practice, and if they choose digital screening mammograms, they will have a better idea of how much time to allow for reading them," said Dr. Haygood......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

December 23, 2008, 10:36 PM CT

Preventing breast cancer with broccoli

Women should go for the broccoli when the relish tray comes around during holiday celebrations this season.

While it has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, can help prevent breast cancer, the mechanism by which the active substances in these vegetables inhibit cell proliferation was unknown until now.

Scientists in the UC Santa Barbara laboratories of Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, and Mary Ann Jordan, adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, have shown how the healing power of these vegetables works at the cellular level. Their research is published in this month's journal Carcinogenesis

"Breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, can be protected against by eating cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and near relatives of cabbage such as broccoli and cauliflower," said first author Olga Azarenko, who is a graduate student at UCSB. "These vegetables contain compounds called isothiocyanates which we believe to be responsible for the cancer-preventive and anti-carcinogenic activities in these vegetables. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts have the highest amount of the isothiocyanates......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

November 19, 2008, 8:39 PM CT

New compounds show promise for eliminating breast cancer tumors

Two new compounds created by a University of Central Florida professor show early promise for destroying breast cancer tumors.

Associate Professor James Turkson's compounds disrupt the formation and spread of breast cancer tumors in tests on mice. The compounds, S3I-201 and S3I-M2001, break up a cancer-causing protein called STAT3, and scientists have observed no negative side effects so far.

"The compounds are very promising," Turkson said. "They've worked very well in mice, and now we're looking for partners to help us take these compounds to the next level of trials".

Turkson's research has been reported in the academic journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and ACS Chemical Biology, and he has obtained patents for both compounds.

Turkson is passionate about his research and has a very personal reason for wanting to find a cure for cancer. During his first year of college, his 52-year-old mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer and died. He dedicated his life to finding a cure.

The two compounds developed in his lab hold promise in part because they efficiently disrupt the abnormally active STAT3 protein he said.

"We all have the STAT3 protein in our bodies, and under normal circumstances it causes no harm. But in patients with breast cancer, the protein is abnormally active. It never shuts off"......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

November 18, 2008, 5:25 AM CT

Breast cancer common among women with family history

New data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting outlines new data, which assesses breast cancer risk among women with a strong family history of breast cancer, but without a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. This may facilitate earlier detection and prevention among high-risk women.

The study, conducted at the University of Toronto, showed that women with a significant family history of breast cancer remain at increased risk for developing the disease, despite having negative BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations. These mutations typically signal a need for preventive therapy. The excess risk was about four-fold higher than that of average women.

"In clinical practice we often see families with a significant history of breast cancer and negative BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, and it is often difficult to counsel them about their risk without this information," said Steven Narod, M.D., the study's senior author. "It is clear that genes are involved, but it is hard to be more specific".

Narod, who holds the Canada Research Chair in breast cancer at the University of Toronto and Women's College Research Institute, said this new data would help physicians counsel their patients. "Now when we see families such as this, we will be able to offer better advice about their actual risk. It is clear to me that the risk is high enough that we need to discuss options such as breast MRI for screening and chemoprevention with tamoxifen or raloxifene." said Narod......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source