Research News for 2009
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Surgery to Remove Metastatic Breast Cancer Improves Survival
Women with metastatic breast cancer at first diagnosis who had the breast tumor (the primary tumor) removed lived twice as long as women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who didn't have the primary tumor removed.
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HER2 Testing, Record of Results Inconsistent and Inadequate
Researchers have found that HER2 testing as well as the way the test results are recorded in medical and insurance records are inconsistent and generally inadequate.
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Obesity, Smoking, Drinking Linked to Risk of Second Breast Cancer
Obesity, smoking, and drinking alcohol all increase the risk of breast cancer being diagnosed a second time in women previously diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive disease.
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Mammography Plus Exam Better at Finding Cancer, But Produce More False Positives
Using both a clinical exam -- a manual exam of the breasts by a medical professional -- and a mammogram is better at detecting breast cancer than a mammogram alone, but clinical exams produce more false positives.
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Research Suggests Link Between Tamoxifen and Risk of Hormone-Receptor-Negative Cancer in Opposite Breast
Research suggests that there may be a link between taking taking tamoxifen for 5 years and a higher risk of developing hormone-receptor-negative cancer in the opposite breast.
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Compared to Tamoxifen, 5 Years of Femara Improves Survival
Taking Femara (chemical name: letrozole) for 5 years as the first adjuvant hormonal therapy medicine improved overall survival by 13% compared to taking tamoxifen for 5 years.
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Estradiol Therapy May Help Some Advanced-Stage Breast Cancers Start Responding to Hormonal Therapy Again
A small study found that estradiol, a form of estrogen, was an effective treatment for about 30% of advanced-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers that had stopped responding to hormonal therapy.
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MRI Before Surgery Doesn’t Improve Doctor’s Recommendations
Routinely doing MRI after diagnosis and before surgery for early-stage breast cancer may lead to more mastectomy recommendations vs. lumpectomy recommendations with no improvement in outcome.
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Strength Training Doesn’t Worsen Lymphedema, May Actually Help
A small study found that strength training doesn't worsen lymphedema after breast cancer surgery and actually can help reduce the symptoms associated with lymphedema as well as the risk of lymphedema flare-ups.
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Isolated Cancer Cells in Lymph Nodes Need Treatment After Surgery
Women diagnosed with node-negative, early-stage breast cancer -- but with isolated cancer cells in the sentinel lymph node -- were 56% less likely to survive without the breast cancer coming back in the 5 years after treatment compared to women who were truly node negative (no cancer cells at all in the sentinel lymph node). This suggests that women diagnosed with isolated cancer cells in the sentinel node should be treated as if the cancer is node-positive.
