Breast Cancer News and Research

Latest Breast Cancer News and Research

Chemotherapy drug bortezomib packs a one-two punch

Cancer can be wily, and those who treat the disease have amassed a wide array of weapons with which to fight it and kill tumors.

20 Feb 2007

Researchers discover markers that identify breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin

Using gene chips to profile tumors before treatment, researchers at Harvard and Yale Universities found markers that identified breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin, the primary treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. They say this advance could help further refine therapy for the 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients with this class of tumor.

20 Feb 2007

Health professionals would prioritize spending on the young over the old

In prioritizing health care spending, health professionals rank childhood immunization highest and cancer treatment for smokers lowest, according to a new international survey published in PLoS Medicine.

20 Feb 2007

More evidence that inflammation can fuel cancer

As evidence mounts that the body's normally protective inflammation response can drive some precancerous tissues to become fully malignant, UCSF scientists report discovering an apparent trigger to this potentially deadly process.

19 Feb 2007

Breath test to detect lung cancer

A new breath test has been reported to detect lung cancer in its early stage. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and doctors believe that early detection could offer sufferers their best chance for early survival.

18 Feb 2007

Group exercise helps breast cancer sufferers

Group exercise sessions can help to improve the physical and psychological wellbeing of people diagnosed with breast cancer, a new British Medical Journal study reveals.

18 Feb 2007

Survey finds perceived risk of recurrence is low in African American breast cancer survivors

A unique survey of African American breast cancer survivors at heightened risk for hereditary breast cancer has found the majority do not believe they have an increased chance of developing the cancer again.

15 Feb 2007

Active lifestyle reduces risk of invasive breast cancer

Six or more hours per week of strenuous recreational activity may reduce the risks of invasive breast cancer by 23 percent, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center (UWCCC).

15 Feb 2007

New breast cancer drug Exemestane shows great potential to save lives

In what will be welcome news to millions of women suffering from breast cancer, trials of a new drug have found it lowers oestrogen levels in women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer and has the potential to save more than 1,000 lives a year in the UK alone.

13 Feb 2007

Switching treatment to exemestane after 2-3 years on tamoxifen, improves survival

The Intergroup Exemestane Study (IES), an extensive, international study, tested the superiority of switching to exemestane (an aromatase inhibitor) from tamoxifen in patients with early breast cancer.

13 Feb 2007

Variation in gene caspase-8 may help protect against breast cancer

A large-scale analysis of data on breast cancer risk has concluded that a common variation in the gene caspase-8 (CASP8) is associated with a somewhat lower risk of the disease. Variants are small changes that occur in a gene sequence.

13 Feb 2007

Breast cancer survival rates improved by novel drug sequence

Changing the way women are treated for breast cancer could improve their overall chance of survival, according to research published in the Lancet.

13 Feb 2007

Switching to an aromatase inhibitor provides mortality benefit in early breast carcinoma

For breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen, switching to an aromatase inhibitor within three years significantly improves survival rates, according to a new study.

12 Feb 2007

Changes in breast cancer management

Aggressive research currently underway brings hope of dramatic advances in breast cancer management, according to a new review.

12 Feb 2007

PALB2 gene mutation elevates risk of breast cancer four-fold

Cancer is a complex and common disease caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. An inherited predisposition seems to be involved in at least 5-10 per cent of all cases of breast cancer.

11 Feb 2007

New test shows which breast cancers will recur

Approval has been granted by the FDA for a gene-based test that helps tell early-stage breast cancer patients whether they need chemotherapy after their surgery.

7 Feb 2007

Risk of developing diabetes increasingly involved in decisions regarding HRT

Although doctors for years have "talked about the health effects of hormones on bones, breasts and women's hearts," diabetes has not been "part of the debate" until last week, when the North American Menopause Society in a revised position statement said that women taking hormone replacement therapy appear to be less likely to develop the disease, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Feb 2007

FDA clears MammaPrint test for marketing

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing a test that determines the likelihood of breast cancer returning within five to 10 years after a woman's initial cancer. It is the first cleared molecular test that profiles genetic activity.

6 Feb 2007

Vitamin D 'tops' for cancer prevention

Two new vitamin D studies using a sophisticated form of analysis called meta-analysis, in which data from multiple reports is combined, have revealed new prescriptions for possibly preventing up to half of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the United States.

6 Feb 2007

Bright quantum dots help basic cancer biology studies

Though there is little doubt that nanoscale devices are going to play a critical role in improving cancer detection and treatment over the next five to ten years, nanoparticles are already having a major impact on the way that cancer biologists study the processes that go awry within malignant and metastatic cells.

5 Feb 2007