Research News for September 2008
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Bigger Babies May Have Higher Breast Cancer Risk
Researchers have found an association between birth size and the risk of breast cancer later in life.
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Characteristics Shown by MRI May Help Predict Whether Cancer Cells Are in Lymph Nodes
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.
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Efaproxiral Doesn’t Improve Radiation Benefits Against Metastatic Breast Cancer in Brain
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.
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New Tool Can Help Predict Recurrence Risk
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.
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Hormone Replacement Therapy Doesn’t Seem to Increase Risk in Women with Abnormal BRCA1 Gene
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.
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Lower-Dose Radiation Seems OK After Lumpectomy
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).
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Acupuncture Helps Ease Hot Flashes
Twelve weeks of acupuncture seems to offer the same relief from hot flashes as 12 weeks of Effexor (chemical name: venlafaxine), an antidepressant.
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MammoSite System Seems Just as Good as Whole Breast Radiation
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.
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Breast Cancer Gene Prediction Models Not Accurate for Asian Women
Two models used to predict BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene abnormalities aren't very accurate when used on Asian women.
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Experimental HER2 Vaccine Shows Promise
A very early study done in mice shows promise for a vaccine against HER2-positive cancer cells.
