Breast Cancer News and Research

Latest Breast Cancer News and Research

Risk of breast cancer mutations underestimated for Asian women, Stanford study shows

Oncologist Allison Kurian, MD, and her colleagues at the Stanford University School of Medicine were perplexed. Computer models designed to identify women who might have dangerous genetic mutations that increase their risk of breast and ovarian cancer worked well for white women. But they seemed to be less reliable for another ethnic group.

11 Sep 2008

Radiation treatment less likely for African American women fighting breast cancer

According to a new study, African American women with breast cancer who have a lumpectomy are less likely to receive radiation treatment compared to white women-the standard for early stage breast cancer.

10 Sep 2008

Injections of N-acetyl cysteine may help 'chemobrain'

Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University, researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce.

7 Sep 2008

Trastuzumab-DM1 - a 'smart bomb' for breast cancer treatment

Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) investigators have found that "smart bomb" therapies are effective in treating breast cancer patients while minimizing side effects.

7 Sep 2008

Black women less likely than white women to receive follow-up treatments after breast cancer surgery

Black women who undergo a lumpectomy surgery to treat early-stage breast cancer are less likely than their white counterparts to receive the recommended follow-up radiation therapy treatments, according to study released on Wednesday, Reuters/Boston Globe reports. Standard care after a lumpectomy includes a series of radiation treatments to ensure that all cancerous cells have been treated.

5 Sep 2008

Genetic testing for sudden cardiac death

Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is a major contributor to mortality in industrialized nations, affecting around 500,000 individuals annually in the Western World, and causing more deaths than AIDS, lung and breast cancer and stroke together.

31 Aug 2008

FDA grants IND for Davanat to treat breast cancer patient

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for use of Davanat in combination with 5-FU to treat a breast cancer patient at the Brown Cancer Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Davanat also is being administered in Phase II clinical trials for first-line treatment of colorectal and biliary cancer patients.

28 Aug 2008

New York Health Department to decide soon whether Medicaid beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS should be moved into managed care plans

The New York State Department of Health in the next few weeks is expected to issue a final decision on whether to switch Medicaid beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS from fee-for-service plans to managed care plans, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports (AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/24).

26 Aug 2008

Breastfeeding could reduce risk of aggressive form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects black, younger women

Breastfeeding for at least six months might lower the risk of developing so-called "triple negative" breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that is more common in black and younger women, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Cancer, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/24).

26 Aug 2008

Good old traditional breakfast can be a killer!

That good old traditional breakfast that many love, with fried eggs, sausages, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes, can be a killer.

26 Aug 2008

Breastfeeding, other factors may affect risk of breast cancer type

Factors such as age at menopause as well as a woman's breastfeeding practices can influence her risk of developing certain types of breast cancer. That was the conclusion of a new study published in the October 1, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that there are distinct and separate hormonal risk factors associated with different subtypes of breast cancer.

25 Aug 2008

Being happy and optimistic can protect women from breast cancer

Researchers in Israel are suggesting that being happy and optimistic may offer some protection to women from breast cancer.

25 Aug 2008

Good tidings for women on HRT

For many women struggling to deal with the symptoms of the menopause, the latest research on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) bears good tidings.

25 Aug 2008

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals' OGX-011 granted FDA fast track status

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals has announced that OGX-011, also known as custirsen sodium, received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in combination with docetaxel for progressive metastatic prostate cancer.

24 Aug 2008

Why hormone therapy for prostate cancer fails

Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

21 Aug 2008