Breast Cancer News
29th July 2011
Selected articles from The Cancer Council Victoria: Cancer Information & Support Service, Cancer News. Approved for use by editor, Doreen Akkerman A.M.
Breast cancer more lethal in blacks, reason unknown
July 25, 2011 (Reuters Health) - It is still a mystery why black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than whites, according to a new study that shows the racial disparity can't be chalked up to obesity differences. As a group, black women in the U.S. tend to be heavier than whites and researchers had thought that might explain why only 78 percent survive five years after diagnosis, compared to 90 percent of white women. Several studies have tied obesity to poorer survival after breast cancer, but only a few small ones have tested whether that relationship varies by race. The new study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, online July 25, 2011.
High-Risk Women Not Referred for Genetic Cancer Counselling
July 25, 2011 — Physicians followed recommendations for breast cancer susceptibility 1 and 2 (BRCA1 and BRCA2) gene mutations in 71% of women of average risk, but only 41% of women at high risk, according to a study published online July 25 in Cancer. For women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, the cumulative risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 years is 57% for BRCA1 carriers and 49% for BRCA2 carriers. Ovarian cancer risks by age 70 years are 40% and 18%, respectively, write lead author Katrina F. Trivers, PhD, MSPH, from the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues.
SLN Metastasis No Death Sentence in Early Breast
Cancer July 26, 2011 - Sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis does not adversely affect survival in early-stage breast cancer, according to results of a large multicenter cohort study.Women with conservatively treated early breast cancer had a five-year overall survival of 95% to 96% regardless of whether they had SLN metastasis by immunohistochemistry (IHC).Bone marrow metastases, though uncommon, doubled the mortality hazard, but the effect no longer remained statistically significant in a multivariable analysis, investigators reported in the July 27 issue of JAMA.
Scientists Develop New Therapy For HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
26 Jul 2011 - Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may soon have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a laboratory finding published in Clinical Cancer Research. Jacek Capala, Ph.D., D.Sc., an investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues designed, produced and tested HER2-Affitoxin, a novel protein that combines HER2-specific affibody molecules and a modified bacterial toxin, PE38.
Wine's Link to Breast Cancer May Depend on Your Genes
July 26, 2011 Medical research on the link between alcohol and breast cancer is yielding new insight but is also making the risks less clear. A new study has found evidence that moderate wine consumption may protect some populations of women against breast cancer. But only women with a certain genetic mutation enjoy the benefits. Women with a different mutation, on the other hand, may be put at greater risk by consuming alcohol. The study comes from research centers at the Universities of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and is slated for publication in The Breast Journal.
Mammograms No Better With Computer's Help
July 27, 2011 -- Commonly used computer-assisted detection (CAD) makes mammograms more costly -- but not better at finding cancers, a large-scale study finds. CAD is now used to help interpret three-fourths of mammograms in the U.S. It adds 9% to 15% to the cost of a mammogram. Despite the extra cost, CAD doesn't improve breast cancer detection or help find cancers at a more favorable stage for treatment, according to an analysis of some 685,000 women who underwent more than 1.6 million mammograms. The study will be published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Greater Breast Density May Raise Cancer Risk
WEDNESDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -Greater breast density is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and certain aggressive tumor traits, new research says. In the study, published in the July 27 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers used mammography to compare breast density in 1,042 postmenopausal women with breast cancer and a control group of 1,794 postmenopausal women without breast cancer.
contributors to decompensation, BMI emerged as an independent predictor of decompensation (P=0.02), investigators reported online in Hepatology.
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