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10/30/2008 10:00 PM
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Exercise May Protect Against Breast Cancer
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BETHESDA, Md. -- A U.S. government study suggests normal weight women who often exercise vigorously are about 30 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than others. Researchers said their findings suggest a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease -- even in women who are not overweight. National Cancer Institute scientists, led by Michael Leitzmann, studied 32,269 postmenopausal women for 11 years. They determined vigorous activities included such tasks as scrubbing floors, chopping wood, digging, fast jogging, competitive tennis, bicycling and even fast dancing. "Notable strengths of our study include its large sample size, prospective design, high follow-up rate and availability of relevant kn...
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10/27/2008 10:00 PM
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Family History A Key Part Of Breast Cancer Detection
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Dawn Martinez's mother battled ovarian cancer for eight years. Her aunt, cousin and great-aunts all had breast cancer. So when her doctor suggested she undergo genetic testing to see if she, too, was at risk, she didn't hesitate. The test was positive -- Martinez had indeed inherited a gene mutation that put her at a more than 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer, and at least a 45 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer. So, at age 35 and still cancer free, Martinez, who lives in Mission, made a drastic decision. She had a hysterectomy, and two months later, a double mastectomy, followed by breast reconstructive surgery. That was more than a year ago, and Martinez, who is married with four children, doesn't regret her ch...
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10/27/2008 10:00 PM
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Provectus Announces Completion Of Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of PV-10 In Recurrent Breast Cancer
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has successfully completed its Phase 1 clinical trial of PV-10 in the treatment of recurrent breast carcinoma. Craig Dees, CEO of Provectus, noted, "We are very pleased with the results of this Phase 1 clinical trial, a classic ascending dose study. Its goals were to determine the safety of the treatment and the appropriate dosage. We have also wanted to show that PV-10 has multi-indication potential. We succeeded in meeting these goals. We are now in a position for a Phase 2 study in recurrent breast carcinoma with our lead oncology drug product candidate PV-10." Dees continued...
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10/23/2008 10:00 PM
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Tamoxifen Chemoprevention Associated With Earlier Diagnosis Of ER-Negative Breast Cancer
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Women at elevated risk of breast cancer who had been randomly assigned to tamoxifen treatment and then developed estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer were diagnosed earlier than women who had been randomly assigned to take a placebo and then developed ER-negative disease, according to a study published online October 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Tamoxifen has been shown to reduce the risk of ER-positive breast cancer in women at high risk of disease. The drug does not alter the risk of ER-negative disease. In the current study, Yu Shen, Ph.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues performed a retrospective analysis of the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial to deter...
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10/23/2008 10:00 PM
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Breast Reconstruction Techniques After Mastectomy Depend On Many Factors
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Decisions made after losing one or both breasts to cancer are as unique as the women making them. "It is a very individual process," said Vivian Hussey of Fulton, 52, whose right breast was removed after her breast cancer diagnosis three years ago. Some women are happy with prosthetics, while others opt for reconstruction. In Hussey's case, the reconstruction she desired was delayed for several months because of an unrelated health problem. In the meantime, "I did get a prosthetic breast," she said. "When I was without the breast, I would cross my arms. Now it's perfectly natural. I feel like a whole person again." Reconstruction is a quality of life issue, said plastic surgeon Dr. Bob Buckley of the Tupelo Plast...
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10/23/2008 10:00 PM
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Breast Cancer Cells Recycle To Escape Death By Hormonal Therapy
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Many breast cancer cells facing potentially lethal antiestrogen therapy recycle to survive, researchers say. About 70 percent of breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone estrogen, which acts as a nutrient and stimulates their growth. Patients typically get an antiestrogen such as tamoxifen for five years to try to starve them to death, says Dr. Patricia V. Schoenlein, cancer researcher in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies. "About 50 to 60 percent of these women really benefit from hormonal therapy," says Dr. Schoenlein. Why others don't has been asked for at least two decades. One reason may be breast cancer cells switch into a survival mode that normal cells also use when faced with s...
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10/20/2008 10:00 PM
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Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Completes Patient Enrollment In First Stage Of Its Second Bavituximab Phase II Breast Cancer Trial
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Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, announced that it has completed enrollment in the first stage of a Phase II trial of bavituximab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. This is Peregrine's second Phase II study for the treatment of breast cancer. The main objective of the multi-center, open-label safety and efficacy study is to assess patients' overall response rate to a regimen combining bavituximab with the chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel. Patients in the study are receiving the treatment regimen and are being evaluated regularly for tumor response a...
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10/20/2008 10:00 PM
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Largest Review Of Its Kind Associates Anti-Inflammatory Drugs With Reduced Breast Cancer Risk
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Analysis of data from 38 studies that enrolled more than 2.7 million women the largest of its kind by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the University of Santiago de Compostela reveals that regular use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a 12 percent relative risk reduction in breast cancer compared to non-users. A separate analysis for Aspirin showed a 13 percent relative risk reduction in breast cancer and an analysis for Advil showed a 21 percent relative risk reduction. The review, published in the U.S. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, alludes to a protective affect against breast cancer. It was conducted by Dr. Mahyar Etm...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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The Dietary Supplement Genistein Can Undermine Breast Cancer Treatment
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Women taking aromatase inhibitors to treat breast cancer or prevent its recurrence should think twice before also taking a soy-based dietary supplement, researchers report. Genistein, a soy isoflavone that mimics the effects of estrogen in the body, can negate the effectiveness of aromatase inhibitors, which are designed to reduce the levels of estrogens that can promote tumor growth in some types of breast cancer. The new study, which included researchers from the University of Illinois, Virginia Polytechnic and State University and the National Center for Toxicological Research, appears in the journal Carcinogenesis. Aromatase inhibitors are a mainstay of breast cancer treatment in post-menopausal women. These drugs work by inter...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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Study Looks At Psychological Impact Of Gene Test For Breast Cancer
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Personal beliefs about inconclusive DNA testing for hereditary breast cancer are associated with cancer-related worry, and such beliefs are an especially strong predictor of whether women had been able to leave the period of DNA-testing behind, reports a study in the October issue of Genetics in Medicine, official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG). The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Published during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the study lends new insights into how women cope with the results of BRCA testing for hereditary breast cancer an increasingly used genetic test in which an "inconclusive" result is common. Sandra van Dijk, M.A., Ph.D.,...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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One Woman's Journey: Abnormal Mammogram Starts Writer On The Road Through Breast Cancer Treatment Process
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Statistically, chances of one in roughly 185,000 are no guarantee when it comes to winning a lottery. But if you, or someone you know, are the one in 185,000 or so who will be diagnosed with breast cancer during 2008, those numbers mean something different. I am one of the 185,000. So, no, this story is not unique. I feel as if I should always wear a sign that says those words: breast cancer. While they tell me the cancer cells were removed, I'm now undergoing one of the hormone replacement therapies used to treat some breast cancer patients who have had a lumpectomy and subsequent radiation. As I've been planning writing this, I believe it was my daughter who said to me, "How can you write about this when you don't talk abou...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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October Is Month To Focus On Breast Cancer Risks, Testing, Prevention
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It's hard to get excited about any medical visit or screening, but the month of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness, a designation designed to increase awareness about the disease and encourage women to have regular screenings. Because early detection increases the likelihood of survival, medical professionals encourage women to do monthly breast self-exams and to have a baseline mammogram -- one to compare against in the future -- by age 35. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 178,000 new cases of breast cancer in women diagnosed each year in the United States. There are about 2,000 cases diagnosed in men. Of these cases, approximately 40,460 women and 450 men will die from the disease. Breast cancer...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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Early Breast Cancer: LHRH Agonists Show Considerable Promise
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Women who have had early stage breast cancer surgically removed, and whose tumour cells are stimulated by the hormone oestrogen, can benefit from taking Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonists, a Cochrane Systematic Review has concluded. This medication may be taken alone or alongside the use of tamoxifen (see also Wiley-Blackwell). Developing effective treatment regimes is important because approximately 30% of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer eventually die of the disease. In over half of the premenopausal women who develop breast cancer, the cells in the tumours grow faster in the presence of oestrogen. Their tumours are said to be ER+. Treatment often starts with the surgical removal of the tumour, b...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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Second Lumpectomy For Breast Cancer Reduces Survival Rates
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A majority of women with breast cancer today are candidates for lumpectomy, allowing for conservation of most of their breast tissue. Results of a UC Davis study, however, show that a number of women whose cancer recurs in the same breast are treated with a second lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy, defying current treatment recommendations and cutting the number of years those women survive in half. "We were surprised to find that so many women in our study almost a quarter of them had received another lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy," said Steven Chen, a UC Davis Cancer Center surgical oncologist and lead author of the study, which appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Surgery. "It's likely that patients are as...
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10/18/2008 10:00 PM
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Tamoxifen Chemoprevention Tied To Early Detection Of Breast Cancer
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The drug tamoxifen does not prevent or treat estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer, but it can make the disease easier to find, researchers report in the Oct. 1 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Women at high-risk for breast cancer who took tamoxifen as a preventive measure in a clinical trial and later developed ER-negative breast cancer had a median time to first diagnosis of 24 months, compared with 36 months for those who received placebo, according to a retrospective statistical analysis. While long-term survival has not yet been observed for the trial, that one-year advanced diagnosis is an unexpected and significant finding, said study lead author Yu Shen, Ph.D., professor in The University of Texas M. D. Anders...
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