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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Related Posts:
- Estrogen-receptor-positive or estrogen-receptor-negative?
- Blood test to detect breast cancer
- Women’s Health Weekly Review – April 19-25
March 19, 2007
Recent developments in breast cancer research
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According to research by Mary Ann Gilligan and published in the American Journal of Public Health women who have surgery for breast cancer in a hospital that has done a lot of them are 20% less likely to die from breast cancer within 5 years
Women who had radiation for breast cancer in the 1970’s and 80’s have a 35-40% greater chance of having heart disease within 20 years. Women who smoked had a even greater risk of heart attack. In addition women who had chemotherapy along with the radiation had a even higher risk of heart disease.
The FDA recently approved the use of GlaxoSmithKline’s Tykerb for women with HER-2 positive advanced breast cancer in combination with the oral chemotherapy drug, Xeloda (capecitabine) who are not responding to Herceptin anymore.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently announced in the Public Library of Science the discovery that a protein called podocalyxin changes the shape and adhesive quality of tumor cells. Further research may designing antibodies to block the function of the protein to help fight metastasizing cancer.
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February 12, 2007
Breast cancer – genes, tests and drugs
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A team led by Angela Cox of Sheffield University Medical School in the UK recently published in Nature Genetics the discovery of a gene that appears to decrease the chance of getting breast cancer in women of European descent by around 13%. The utilized data collected from 14 studies involving around 33,000 women. The gene is called CASP8 and is a member of the cysteine-aspartic acid protease family of genes also known as caspases. Caspases are involved in apoptosis, which is the programmed death of certain cells. Many cancers involve mutations in genes that are involved with apoptosis resulting in cancerous cells remaining alive despite having mutations that should have resulted in their dying through apoptosis.
Recently the FDA approved a test that can help predict whether or not women who have had breast cancer before are likely to have it return. The test is called MammaPrint and uses a sample from the person’s breast cancer. DNA from the sample is then analyzed and the activity of about 70 different genes are measured.
A report in Cancer finds that some newer breast cancer drugs called aromatase inhibitors are safer and have less side effects than tamoxifen and their users tend to live longer. They only for women who are post-menopausal however. Aromatase inhibitors block the activity of the enzyme aromatase thereby preventing the conversion of androgens into estrogens.
(Technorati Tags: breast cancer, apoptosis, cancer, tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors)
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Related Posts:
- Breast cancer: BRCA2 and DNA repair
- Breast cancer gene product has role in translation
- Breast cancer research update – 7/20/07
January 23, 2007
Breast cancer – exercise, obesity and tamoxifen
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A study published a while back in Archives of Internal Medicine presented evidence that women who exercise regularly may have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer, especially the most aggressive types. Data collected from over 36,000 women from the Iowa Women’s Health Study over an 18 year period showed that women who were the most active had a 14% less chance of developing breast cancer. And their chance of developing estrogen only receptor postitive (no progesterone receptors) cancer went down 33%.
If that’s not reason enough to exercise regularly a different study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that women who have breast cancer and are obese (or less well educated) are less likely to get an optimal dose of chemotherapy. It was found that 21% of the women who were obese only got 85% or less of the regular dose of chemotherapy based on their weight. Also women who did not graduate from high school also got a lower dose than they should have.
The same issue also reports that women who choose their breast cancer surgeon themselves tend to pick more experienced surgeons than women whose doctor is picked by another doctor or by their health insurance. In general patients who have doctors with more experience tend to do better.
More recently in the New England Journal of Medicine some Canadian researchers discovered that women who have more dense breasts – and more difficult to get accurate mammograms from – had a greater chance of getting cancer. And a more aggressive type of cancer yet. There is not yet a way to test how dense a person’s breasts are.
Tamoxifen is a drug used to fight estrogen receptor postitive breast cancers. The journal Cancer reports that many women stop taking it before the recommended 5 years are over. Apparently 22% stopped before one year, 28% by two years and 35% by three and a half years. The women who were most likely to stop taking it were the youngest and oldest in the group.
(Technorati Tags: breast cancer, tamoxifen, exercise, estrogen)
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- Another alternative for high risk, post-menopausal women to prevent breast cancer.
- Breast cancer – detection and treatment updates
January 2, 2007
More breast cancer news
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It hasn’t been that long since I posted an update about breast cancer – but there is already a lot more to post about!
A paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine presents data from 116,000 women shows that those who have infertility issues due to an ovulation disorder also have a lower incidence of breast cancer – 25% less. Of course it is just a correlation, but indicates that there may be no long term consequences to infertility treatment as the risk was lowest in the women who had been treated for infertility with induced ovulation.
Another correlational study supports the previous evidence that weight gain increases the risk of breast cancer. This one was published in the International Journal of Cancer and states that there is around a 70% increase in the chance of developing breast cancer in women who gained more than 60 lbs between ages 20 and menopause. This is in contrast to women who gained no more than 20 lbs. over the same period.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute has a report on 2437 women who have survived breast cancer – those who decreased their fat intake after treatment by around 40% had a lower return of cancer than those who didn’t. The effect may be due to the weight loss that went along with the fat intake reduction rather than the reduced fat level itself. Also, women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer may see the effect more than women with estrogen receptor-positive cancers.
Along those same lines, another study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that women who eat more red meat have a greater chance of developing estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Specifically, those who ate greater than 1.5 servings of red meat on an average day had nearly twice the chance of getting cancer than women who only had 3 or less servings in a week. This effect could be due to either hormone residues, iron or other carcinogens in the meat.
A few weeks ago Science published a report that shows that one of the active ingredients in the pill RU-486 may also help to stop the formation of breast cancer in mice with the BRCA-1 mutation. Progesterone can stimulate the development of breast cancer since it accelerates cell division. However, mifepristone (one of the ingredients in RU-486) blocks the action of progesterone.
There is lots more research out there – but I’m out of time today! I’ll try to keep my blog updated as much as possible with new research.
(Technorati Tags: breast cancer, brca-1, red meat, fat)
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Related Posts:
- Weight gain increases risk of breast cancer
- Breast cancer – exercise, obesity and tamoxifen
- Preliminary research results and the media – more harm than good?
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