Research News
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Abnormal Cells Found in 10% of Women Having Breast Reduction Surgery
A new study found that nearly 10% of 444 women who had surgery to reduce the size of their breasts had abnormal looking cells in the breast tissue that was removed.
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Research Finds Breast Cancer Cells Continue to Mutate
After analyzing cells from both metastatic breast cancer and the original cancer that was diagnosed 9 years earlier, scientists found that the cancer cells continued to evolve and mutate over time.
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Lymph Node Ultrasound Before Surgery Can Help Find Cancer Spread
Ultrasound of underarm lymph nodes can determine if cancer has spread to those lymph nodes in some cases.
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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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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.
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Women Treated for Hormone-Receptor-Negative Cancers More Likely to be Diagnosed with New Cancer in Other Breast
Research shows that women treated for hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer are more than 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with a new cancer (either hormone-receptor-positive or -negative) in the other breast compared to women treated for hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer.
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Worse Cancer Prognosis in African Americans Linked to Genetic Factors, Not Access to Care
A new study showed that African Americans have worse prognoses from breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers than people of other ethnicities, despite identical medical care. This suggests that genetic factors, rather than quality of care or access to care, account for the worse prognoses.
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Urban Women with Higher Incomes Have Larger Drops in Breast Cancer Rates
Women with higher incomes and women who live in urban areas have had larger drops in breast cancer rates since 2002 compared to women with lower incomes who live in suburban or rural areas.
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New Guidelines for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Recommend Treatment Based on Individual Cancer Characteristics
A large group of cancer experts created new guidelines for treating early-stage breast cancer; the guidelines recommend that chemotherapy, targeted therapies, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy should be based on the characteristics of each individual cancer being treated.
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Metastatic Breast Cancer Often Treated with Medicines Used “Off-Label”
"Off-label therapy," or using a medication in a way that hasn't been officially approved by the FDA, is used in one-third of women with metastatic breast cancer.
