http://www.health.am/cr/breast-cancer/ 2012-02-13T14:09:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/aim-at-breast-cancer-stem-cells/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/aim-at-breast-cancer-stem-cells/ Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers have again proven that injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second laser treatment can kill them. The results of the first effort involving kidney tumors was published in 2009, but now they’ve taken the science and directed it at breast cancer tumors, specifically the tumor initiating cancer stem cells. These stem cells are hard to kill because they don’t divide very often and many anti-cancer strategies are directed at killing the cells that divide frequently. The Wake Forest Baptist research findings are reported online ahead of April print publication in the journal Biomaterials. The research is a result of a collaborative effort between Wake Forest School of Medicine, the Wake Forest University Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, and Rice University. Lead investigator and professor of biochemistry Suzy V. Torti, Ph.D., of Wake Forest Baptist, said the breast cancer stem cells tend to be resistant to drugs and radiotherapy, so targeting these particular cells is of great interest in the scientific community. Breast Cancer news 2012-02-09T18:36:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/risk-of-death-from-breast-cancer/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/risk-of-death-from-breast-cancer/ Among postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, increasing age was associated with a higher risk of death from breast cancer, according to a study in the February 8 issue of JAMA. “Breast cancer is the leading contributor to cancer incidence and cancer mortality in women worldwide, with 1,383,500 new cases in 2008. In the United States in 2008, 41 percent of these women were aged 65 years or older at diagnosis. Because breast cancer incidence increases with increasing age, changing demographics and continuously increasing life expectancy will further enlarge the number of older women confronted with breast cancer,” according to background information in the article. “In addition to classic tumor-related prognostic factors, patient characteristics may be associated with breast cancer outcome.” Willemien van de Water, M.D., of the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a study to assess disease-specific mortality among age groups in postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The study consisted of an analysis of 9,766 patients enrolled in the TEAM (Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational) randomized clinical trial between January 2001 and January 2006. Age at diagnosis was categorized as younger than 65 years (n = 5,349), 65 to 74 years (n = 3,060), and 75 years or older (n = 1,357). Breast Cancer news 2012-02-08T08:42:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/prognosis-in-challenging-breast-cancer-cases/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/prognosis-in-challenging-breast-cancer-cases/ In two new studies featured in the February issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers are revealing how molecular imaging can be used to solve mysteries about difficult cases of breast cancer. One article focuses on an imaging agent that targets estrogen receptors in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer patients with formerly inconclusive assessments, and the second highlights a different imaging agent’s ability to help predict the prognosis for patients undergoing chemotherapy for a very aggressive type of breast cancer. Conventional imaging and biopsy are not always enough to diagnose and characterize suspected metastatic breast cancers, especially for patients who cannot receive repeated biopsies due to the location of the cancer or other existing illnesses. It is estimated that 75 percent of breast tumors show estrogen receptor activity at the point of diagnosis, and that estrogen receptor expression is an indicator of not only active cancer lesions, but patients’ potential response to therapy, as well. Researchers found that whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) with 16a-18F-fluoro-17b-estradiol (18F-FES), a molecular imaging technique, provides an entirely non-invasive means of capturing estrogen receptor expression in estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. It has the potential to help physicians make more accurate judgments about extent of disease, specifically whether anti-hormonal therapies would be beneficial for patients who had inconclusive assessments using more conventional methods.  Breast Cancer news 2012-02-07T08:53:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/our-promise-to-black-women/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/our-promise-to-black-women/ When 27-year-old Shaneera made the decision to breastfeed her newly born daughter in August 2007, little did she know that decision to breastfeed would change her life.  Wanting to give her daughter the gift of a good life start, Shaneera was anxious when she felt a lump while nursing. After months of being brushed off by her primary health care provider, multiple referrals to breast surgeons and misdiagnosis, she was finally diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.  In less than three years, on June 23, 2010, Shaneera died of breast cancer. Her husband and now 3-year-old daughter cannot understand what happened. And neither can we at the Black Women’s Health Imperative understand why Black women have not benefited from the progress being made in research and new technologies. Our mission in launching a new educational campaign is to raise questions, seek understanding, and call attention to what is happening to young Black women. This is what we know. We know that although Black women have a lower breast cancer incidence rate than other women, Black women are dying at a significantly higher rate than any other group of women. This fact is more complex than many may think. And most alarmingly, we don’t know why. Breast Cancer news 2012-02-06T21:39:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/breast-cancer-kills-more-black-women/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/breast-cancer-kills-more-black-women/ Black women are 50 percent more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to die from advanced breast cancer, even if they receive radiation therapy. “We knew from our earlier study that blacks with advanced breast cancer were less likely to be treated with radiation, so we expected to see that their survival would be poorer because of that,” says Steve R. Martinez, assistant professor of surgical oncology at University of California, Davis. “We were surprised to find that blacks fare worse regardless of whether they receive radiation therapy and actually appear to be less responsive to one of our most important treatments.” Breast Cancer news 2012-02-06T21:33:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/surgical-breast-biopsy/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/surgical-breast-biopsy/ Contrary to earlier findings, surgical breast biopsies may not be as overused as previously thought, according to a study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Surgical breast biopsies are more invasive than needle biopsies, requiring an incision and the use of general anesthesia. Results from a previous study in 2011 in a surgical journal suggested that surgery is used for 30 percent of breast biopsies, an excessive number. However, in response, the authors of this JACR article thought that the reported results may overstate the percentage of biopsies performed as surgical biopsies. As a result, they sought to more accurately assess the use of needle biopsy compared with surgical biopsy. The nationwide Medicare Part B databases for 2004 to 2009 were used during the study. Trends in use of codes for five different types of breast biopsies, including needle biopsy with imaging, needle biopsy without imaging and surgical biopsy were determined.  Breast Cancer news 2012-02-02T18:22:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/breast-cancer-surgery-rules-are-called-unclear/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/breast-cancer-surgery-rules-are-called-unclear/ Nearly half of women who had lumpectomies for breast cancer had second operations they may not have needed because surgeons have been unable to agree on guidelines for the most common operation for breast cancer, a new study finds. It also hints that some women who might benefit from further surgery may be missing out on it. Rates of repeat surgery can vary widely by doctor, from zero percent to 70 percent, according to the study. The additional operations are done when pathology reports on tumor specimens suggest that the first operation may have left behind some cancer cells. But surgeons differ when it comes to interpreting those reports.  Breast Cancer news 2012-02-01T11:54:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/recommended-breast-screening-mri/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/recommended-breast-screening-mri/ A study of 64,659 women, recently published in the journal Academic Radiology, found that while 1,246 of these women were at high enough breast cancer risk to recommend additional screening with MRI, only 173 of these women returned to the clinic within a year for the additional screening. “It’s hard to tell where, exactly, is the disconnect,” says Deborah Glueck, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and associate professor of biostatistics and informatics at the Colorado School of Public Health, the paper’s senior author. But no matter the disconnect, the result is clear: women who should be getting breast screening MRI are not. Along with her PhD student, John Brinton, Glueck got interested in the data of MRI breast screening soon after the 2007 recommendation by the American Cancer Society that women at elevated lifetime risk for developing breast cancer be screened with MRI in addition to yearly mammograms. In fact, despite most major health insurances offering coverage, few clinics put the recommendation into practice. Breast Cancer news 2012-01-31T21:59:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/scientists-developing-breast-cancer-treatment-test-news/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/scientists-developing-breast-cancer-treatment-test-news/ University of Manchester scientists are developing a test that will help identify patients who will benefit from a new breast cancer treatment, thanks to a research grant worth almost £180,000 from Breast Cancer Campaign. Doctors have begun clinical trials to test brand new breast cancer drugs called Notch inhibitors. However, there’s currently no way to identify which patients will respond to these drugs prior to treatment. Dr Keith Brennan, in the Faculty of Life Sciences, aims to change that. He said, “Researchers have discovered a key breast cancer development molecule called Notch, which can be targeted by the newly developed Notch inhibitor drugs. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way of identifying Notch in patients’ tumours, which would tell us who is likely to benefit from these drugs. What is needed instead are ‘surrogate’ molecules which are easily detected and will indicate Notch’s presence.” Breast Cancer news 2012-01-25T15:00:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/in-breast-cancer-the-quality-of-life/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/in-breast-cancer-the-quality-of-life/ Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised and these women suffer from severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that the mental issues faced by younger breast cancer survivors were more serious than the physical impacts compared to a general age-matched population of women who didn’t have cancer and those more than 50 years old who did. The study points to the need for oncologists to let these younger patients know from the beginning of their therapy what may happen to them after it’s finished, said study lead author Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Breast Cancer news 2012-01-25T14:58:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/genetic-testing-helped-breast-cancer-survivor/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/genetic-testing-helped-breast-cancer-survivor/ When Maureen Gianni, a breast cancer survivor, learned that her younger sister had also been diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to have her remaining breast removed as a precaution. “When your life is in danger, you just do what you’ve got to do,” said Gianni, 63, of Danbury. She would have also had her ovaries removed, but the results of a genetic test prevented her from doing so. Gianni was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. She had one breast surgically removed and had chemotherapy treatments, she said. Breast Cancer news 2012-01-25T14:47:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/certain-type-of-ovarian-cancer-and-brca-gene/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/certain-type-of-ovarian-cancer-and-brca-gene/ Among women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, patients having a germline (gene change in a reproductive cell that could be passed to offspring) mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes was associated with improved 5-year overall survival, with BRCA2 carriers having the best prognosis, according to a study in the January 25 issue of JAMA. “Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the strongest known genetic risk factors for both breast and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and are found in 6 percent to 15 percent of women with EOC,” according to background information in the article. “The relative prognosis of BRCA1/2 carriers and noncarriers is unclear.” Kelly L. Bolton, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues conducted a study to provide evidence of the relative effect of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations on prognosis for women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The study consisted of a pooled analysis of 26 observational studies on the survival of women with ovarian cancer, which included data from 1,213 EOC cases with pathogenic germline mutations in BRCA1 (n = 909) or BRCA2 (n = 304) and from 2,666 noncarriers recruited and followed up at variable times between 1987 and 2010. During the 5 years following EOC diagnosis, 1,766 deaths occurred. Breast Cancer news, Ovarian Cancer news 2012-01-25T09:13:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/quality-of-life-for-younger-breast-cancer/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/quality-of-life-for-younger-breast-cancer/ Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised and these women suffer from severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that the mental issues faced by younger breast cancer survivors were more serious than the physical impacts compared to a general age-matched population of women who didn’t have cancer and those more than 50 years old who did. The study points to the need for oncologists to let these younger patients know from the beginning of their therapy what may happen to them after it’s finished, said study lead author Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “We know that educating and providing younger breast cancer patients with information about what they might experience once their treatment ends is very helpful,” said Ganz, who has been conducting research on quality of life after cancer treatment for 25 years. “If they know what to expect, their anxiety level will be greatly reduced. Up to now, oncologists have not done a good job of preparing these women for what will come.” Breast Cancer news 2012-01-23T18:11:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/younger-breast-cancer-patients/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/younger-breast-cancer-patients/ Younger women with breast cancer experience a decrease in their health-related quality of life (QOL), associated with increased psychological distress, weight gain, a decline in their physical activity, infertility and early onset menopause, according to a study published January 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in women, and is the leading cause of death in women under 50 in the U.S. While the survival rate for younger women with breast cancer has improved over the last two decades, their cancer treatments, despite their effectiveness, can seriously affect QOL and other health outcomes. To better understand the impact of cancer treatment on the quality of life of younger breast cancer survivors, Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., director of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues did a review of studies that focused on overall QOL, psychosocial effects, menopause and fertility-related concerns, and behavioral outcomes related to weight gain and physical activity. The studies were published between January 1990 and July 2010. Of the 840 titles and abstracts reviewed, they focused on 28 with the most relevant data.  Breast Cancer news 2012-01-21T21:31:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/cr/more/statins-might-treat-cancer/ http://www.health.am/cr/more/statins-might-treat-cancer/ Cholesterol-lowering statins seem to keep breast cancer at bay in some patients. Now researchers reporting in the January 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provide clues about how statins might yield those unexpected benefits. The findings also suggest that mutations in a single gene could be used to identify tumors likely to respond to statin therapy. “The data raises the possibility that we might identify subsets of patients whose tumors may respond to statins,” said Carol Prives of Columbia University. “Of course we can’t make any definitive conclusions until we know more.” Prives said that a clinical trial of statins in breast cancer based on the mutation status of the tumor suppressor, p53, may be in order. The p53 tumor suppressor acts to regulate many aspects of cell proliferation, generally putting the brake on uncontrolled growth. More than half of all human cancers carry mutations in the p53 gene. Many of these mutations don’t simply disrupt the normal function of p53, they also endow p53 with new functions that promote, instead of inhibit, cancer formation. Mice lacking p53 develop cancer and die, Prives explained, but mice carrying tumor-derived mutant forms of the p53 gene suffer from more aggressive disease. What these mutant forms of p53 are actually doing is a big question in cancer research. Breast Cancer news 2012-01-19T20:50:01-08:00