Breast cancer – detection and treatment updates
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New detection method being developed
Researchers at Harvard Medical School are working on a method to distinguish between malignant tumors and benign masses in breast tissue. Malignant breast tumors have a higher percent of a calcium salt called hydroxyapatite, while in benign tumors there is more calcium oxalate. The researchers are developing a contrast agent that binds just to the calcium salt in the malignant tumors and then using optical tomography they can “reconstruct a three-dimensional image of tissues deep inside the breast”. Unfortunately human trials are still a few years away but when or if it becomes available for use it will be especially helpful for women with more dense breasts whose cancer is difficult to detect with mammograms.
New recommendations for women with cancer found in one breast
A big story this week has been the new recommendation that women with a recent diagnosis of cancer in one breast should have an MRI of their other breast. In their study 3.1% of women with cancer in one breast were found to have cancer in their other breast even though a mammogram didn’t previously detect it.
Other News
Women whose breast cancer is negative for the three significant markers – 1) estrogen receptor (ER), 2) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and 3) progesterone receptor (PR) – sometimes referred to as “triple negative” cancers are more likely to be African American or Hispanic, under 40 years old, with a lower socioeconomic status. These types of tumors are more likely to be aggressive and deadly.
A study at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that 44% surgeons “do not refer the majority of their breast cancer patients to a plastic surgeon prior to the initial surgery”. Older women in the UK may not be getting the best treatment for breast cancer according to a study in the British Journal of Cancer. They seem to have a lower chance of receiving primary surgery, undergoing axillary node surgery and undergoing steroid receptor tests, lowering their odds of survival.
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on July 10th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Fibrocystic Breast Disease, the Iodine Deficiency Connection
A good friend of ours just went through an ordeal with breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer has increased to 1 in 8 women, with 4,000 new cases weekly.
You might ask, could there be a preventive measure which is safe, cheap and widely available that has been overlooked?
The answer is YES , and it’s the essential mineral, Iodine, which was added to table salt in 1924 as part of a national program to prevent Goiter. It turns out that this same Iodine in table salt is the key to breast cancer prevention as proposed by the following list of prestigious doctors:
Guy Abraham, MD, Robert Derry MD PHD, David Brownstein MD, George Flechas MD, Donald Miller, M.D.
Dr. B.A. Eskin published 80 papers over 30 years researching iodine and breast cancer, and he reports that iodine deficiency causes breast cancer and thyroid cancer in humans and animals. Iodine deficiency is also known to cause a pre-cancerous condition called fibrocystic breast disease.
W.R. Ghent published a paper in 1993 which showed iodine supplementation works quite well to reverse and resolve fibrocystic changes of the breast, and this is again the subject of a current clinical study.(Can J Surg. 1993 Oct;36(5):453-60.)
Despite its obvious potential, not much has been done with Iodine treatment over the past 40 years in the United States. Since iodine isn’t patentable and is therefore unlikely to be profitable to market, there is no money to fund studies for “FDA approval”. However, FDA approval is not required since Iodine is already an additive to table salt at the supermarket.
For more information see my newsletter
Jeffrey Dach MD
on July 18th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Hello,
there have been recently FDA approved new johnson&johnson genetic test for breast cancer spread – more covered here:http://cancergenetics.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/johnson-johnson-genetic-testing-fda-approved/