September 2008 Research News
Breast Cancer Risk Linked to Birth Size
September 30, 2008
Researchers have found an association between birth size and the risk of breast cancer later in life. Read more...
ASTRO: Breast Cancer MRI Kinetics May Predict Nodal Status
September 25, 2008
New research suggests that certain breast cancer characteristics shown by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may help predict whether there are cancer cells in the lymph nodes when the cancer is first diagnosed. Read more...
Risk Factors After Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy Predict Breast Cancer Relapse
September 24, 2008
A new tool that looks at four breast cancer characteristics seems to do a good job of predicting whether early-stage hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer is likely to come back (recurrence). The tool assessed recurrence in women diagnosed with early-stage hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer that had been treated with hormonal therapy before surgery. Read more...
ASTRO: No Benefit Seen for Efaproxiral Against Metastatic Brain Tumors
September 24, 2008
New research suggests that the experimental medicine Efaproxyn (chemical name: efaproxiral) doesn't improve the benefits of radiation therapy to the brain to treat breast cancer that has spread there. Read more...
Protective Role Seen for Hormone Therapy in BRCA1 Carriers
September 23, 2008
A small study suggests that combination hormone replacement therapy doesn't seem to raise the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women with an abnormal BRCA1 gene, but several leading researchers don't think the results are definitive. Read more...
ASTRO: Acupuncture Relieves Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients
September 22, 2008
Twelve weeks of acupuncture seems to offer the same relief from hot flashes as 12 weeks of Effexor (chemical name: venlafaxine), an antidepressant. Read more...
ASTRO: Partial Breast Radiation Effective in Preventing Cancer Recurrence
September 22, 2008
Women who got internal partial-breast irradiation with the MammoSite system, also known as brachytherapy, had the same outcomes as women who got traditional external radiation therapy in the 3 to 4 years after lumpectomy to treat early-stage breast cancer. Read more...
ASTRO: Short Radiation Course After Lumpectomy Suggested
September 22, 2008
Women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer with no lymph node involvement who got a lower dose of radiation for a shorter time after lumpectomy had the same outcome as women who got standard radiation therapy (a higher dose for a longer time). Read more...
Vaccine Kills HER2-Positive Murine Breast Tumor Cells
September 15, 2008
A very early study done in mice shows promise for a vaccine against HER2-positive cancer cells. Read more...
Prediction Models Underestimate Asian BRCA1/2 Carriers
September 15, 2008
Two models used to predict BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene abnormalities aren't very accurate when used on Asian women. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Low-Dose, Rapid-Cycle Chemotherapy Active Against Anthracycline-Resistant Disease
September 10, 2008
A new study suggests that breast cancer that is resistant to an anthracycline may respond to a combination of two other chemotherapies, Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel) and Xeloda (chemical name: capecitabine). Read more...
ASCO Breast: Electronic Brachytherapy Proves Feasible in Initial Clinical Test
September 10, 2008
Preliminary results show the Axxent brachytherapy system, which uses electricity and miniature x-ray tubes instead of radiative materials, successfully delivered specified doses of radiation therapy to 44 women so far. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Hot Flash Therapy Plus Hypnotic Improves Sleep in Breast Cancer Patients
September 9, 2008
A very small study suggests that a combination of an antidepressant medicine and Ambien, a sleep medicine, may ease sleep problems caused by hot flashes more effectively than just taking an antidepressant. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Upper-Body Breast Cancer Surgery Aftermath Often Lingers
September 9, 2008
Most women who have breast cancer surgery have some type of arm problem, even more than a year after surgery. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Pretreatment MRI Delays Treatment without Improving Outcomes
September 8, 2008
Routinely doing MRI after diagnosis and before surgery may lead to more mastectomy recommendations vs. lumpectomy recommendations with no improvement in care or outcome. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Survival in Metastatic Breast Cancer Static Despite New Agents
September 9, 2008
A new study finds the average survival time after a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer hasn't changed much since 1985. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Targeted Therapy May Restore Endocrine Sensitivity to Metastatic Breast Cancer
September 8, 2008
A preliminary study suggests that a targeted therapy may be able to make hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers that have stopped responding to hormonal therapy start responding again. Read more...
ASCO Breast: Survival Benefit of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Limited
September 8, 2008
Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy -- removing the opposite healthy breast -- reduced the risk of developing a new breast cancer in the other breast and also reduced the risk of dying from breast cancer by about 30% for young women diagnosed with early-stage, hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. Read more...
ASCO Breast: HER2 Conversion Linked to Incomplete Response to Trastuzumab (Herceptin)
September 4, 2008
A new study suggests that about one-third of HER-positive breast cancers that stop responding or don't respond completely to Herceptin do so because the cancers change from HER2-positive to HER2-negative during treatment. Read more...
No Cognition Risks Seen for Breast Cancer Prophylaxis with Aromatase Inhibitor
September 3, 2008
A small study shows that women who took the aromatase inhibitor Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole) for 2 years didn't have any more thinking and memory problems than women who took a placebo pill for 2 years. Read more...