October 2008 Research News
Vigorous Physical Activity Tied to Lower Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer
October 31, 2008
Vigorous exercise may lower the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Read more...
Tamoxifen Resistance Tracked to Estrogen-Related Receptor
October 30, 2008
Basic laboratory research has found that certain invasive lobular breast cancers may not respond to tamoxifen because they develop a protein receptor that stops tamoxifen from working. Read more...
Toxic Effects of Breast Cancer Hormone Treatment May Herald Success
October 29, 2008
New research suggests a link between hormonal therapy side effects (hot flashes, night sweats, joint pain) and a reduced risk of breast cancer coming back. Read more...
3-D Doppler May Unmask Malignant Breast Lesions
October 21, 2008
A small, early study suggests that speed-weighted 3-D power Doppler can help doctors decide if a breast mass is cancer or not. Read more...
Nicotine May Link Second-Hand Smoking to Breast Cancer
October 15, 2008
Exposure to nicotine from cigarettes you smoke as well from second-hand smoke from other people's cigarettes seems to make breast cancer cells grow and spread. Read more...
Heart Rhythm Abnormalities Linked to Insomnia in Breast Cancer
October 15, 2008
Changes in heart rate patterns and cortisol levels seem to be linked to sleeping problems in women being treated for advanced (metastatic) breast cancer. Read more...
Older Medicaid Patients Less Likely to Be Screened for Certain Cancers
October 13, 2008
A new study shows that women in the North Carolina Medicaid program aren't getting regular mammograms because the screening isn't recommended by their doctors. Read more...
LHRH Agonists Show Promise for Early Breast Cancer
October 10, 2008
After surgery and other treatments for hormone-receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer in premenopausal women, treatment with the hormonal therapy medicine Zoladex (chemical name: goserelin) can lower the risk of the cancer coming back and improve overall prognosis. Read more...
Coffee Drinking Does Not Raise Breast Cancer Risk
October 13, 2008
A new study provides more evidence that there seems to be no link between caffeine and breast cancer risk. Read more...
Tamoxifen May Unmask ER-Negative Tumors
October 7, 2008
Women at high risk who took tamoxifen and developed hormone-receptor-NEGATIVE breast cancer had the cancer diagnosed earlier compared to women who didn't take tamoxifen. (Tamoxifen doesn't reduce the risk of hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer.) Read more...
Mastectomy Urged for Recurrent Ipsilateral Breast Cancer After Lumpectomy
October 6, 2008
Women who had lumpectomy to treat an initial breast cancer and then had lumpectomy again to treat breast cancer that came back in the same breast had lower survival rates in the 10 years after the second surgery compared to women who had lumpectomy as the first surgery and then mastectomy as the second surgery. Read more...
Inconclusive Genetic Test for Breast Cancer as Distressing as Positive One
October 3, 2008
Women at high risk for breast cancer who had genetic testing benefited psychologically from knowing the results of the test. Read more...
Computer-Aided Mammography Matches Accuracy of Double Reading
October 1, 2008
A large study found that two ways to read mammograms -- computer-aided detection and double reading -- were both about 87% accurate in finding breast cancer. Read more...