Breast Cancer News and Research

Latest Breast Cancer News and Research

ACR names WDI as Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

Women's Digital Imaging of Ridgewood (WDI) has been named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The Center of Excellence designation is awarded to facilities that meet the highest standards set by the ACR through peer-review evaluations conducted in each breast imaging modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists.

5 May 2012

MicroRNAs in breast cancer play a role in development of resistance to tamoxifen

Many breast cancer patients are treated with a drug called tamoxifen. The substance blocks the effect of estrogen and thus suppresses the growth signals of this hormone in cancer cells. When resistance to the drug develops, tumor cells change their growth program: They change their behavior and shape, become more mobile and also adopt the ability to invade surrounding tissue. Scientists working with PD (Associate Professor) Dr. Stefan Wiemann of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now also observed these changes in tamoxifen resistant breast cancer cells.

5 May 2012

New light on many biological differences between individual breast cancers

New findings presented at Europe's leading breast cancer translational research conference this year shed new light on the many biological differences between individual breast cancers.

4 May 2012

Presence of fetal cells is a double-edged sword for women

For the first time, scientists have found what could be a causative link between the concentration of circulating Y-chromosome fetal cells in women who gave birth to children of either sex and their risk of later developing breast cancer and colon cancer.

4 May 2012

Potential breast cancer patients for new immune-targeting therapies

Breast cancer patients whose tumors express high levels of genes related to immune response are more likely to have their tumor completely eradicated by pre-operative chemotherapy compared to patients with low expression of these genes, Belgian researchers report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

New analysis may help identify breast cancer patients who will benefit from immune suppressant

A new analysis may help doctors identify breast cancer patients who will benefit from treatment with the immune suppressant drug everolimus, say French researchers at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

Many women diagnosed with breast cancer report no family history

More than half the women aged 40-49 diagnosed with breast cancer on screening mammography report no family history, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Positive ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy requires dissection

Contrary to a trend in treatment, breast cancer patients with suspicious lymph nodes should have an ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy, and if that biopsy is positive these patients should undergo an axillary dissection, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Generon commences F-627 Phase II trial in breast cancer

Generon Corporation Ltd. today announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial for F-627 after US FDA regulatory clearance. The current study is a Phase II, randomized, multicenter, open-label, active-controlled trial of F-627 in women with breast cancer receiving myelotoxic chemotherapy.

4 May 2012

Potential ways for doctors to improve hormone receptor-positive breast cancer treatment

American and Spanish researchers have found potential ways for doctors to improve the treatment of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer even if they lack access to costly multi-gene tests, as they report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference.

4 May 2012

Newly diagnosed cancer patients should undergo preop MRI irrespective of breast density

Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients should undergo a preoperative MRI exam even if their breasts are not dense, a new study indicates. The study found no difference between the usefulness of 3T breast MRI in detecting additional malignancies and high risk lesions in dense versus non-dense breasts.

4 May 2012

Health care quality varies widely despite high spending in the U.S.

The United States spends more on health care than 12 other industrialized countries yet does not provide "notably superior" care, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

4 May 2012

Study: Breast cancer in young women is enriched with aggressive basal-like tumors

Breast cancer in young women is a biologically unique disease that requires customized management strategies, researchers report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference, in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

Comorbidities common among patients with COPD

Comorbidities are common among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and a number of these comorbidities are independently associated with an increased mortality risk, according to a new study.

4 May 2012

UCSD radiation oncologist challenges MD Anderson brachytherapy findings

Catheryn Yashar, MD, radiation oncologist at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and a pioneer in breast brachytherapy is available to offer perspective on the effectiveness of breast brachytherapy - a shorter course of radiation treatment for breast cancer.

3 May 2012

A test to predict breast cancer many years before the disease is diagnosed

Ultimately the findings, in the journal Cancer Research, could lead to a simple blood test to screen women, they say. The test looks for how genes are altered by environmental factors like alcohol and hormones - a process known as epigenetics. One in five women is thought to have such a genetic “switch” that doubles breast cancer risk say researchers.

3 May 2012

New clues about why immune system fails to kill tumors in mice

A pioneering approach to imaging breast cancer in mice has revealed new clues about why the human immune system often fails to attack tumors and keep cancer in check. This observation, by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), may help to reveal new approaches to cancer immunotherapy.

3 May 2012

Women with benign breast biopsies do not need follow-up at six months

Contrary to current guidelines, women with benign breast biopsies do not need follow-up at six months; they may not need close surveillance at all, a new study shows.

3 May 2012

EKOS launches two landmark clinical studies on pulmonary embolism

EKOS Corporation today announced the launch of two more landmark clinical studies named SEATTLE I & II, intended to further establish the safety and efficacy of its unique, ultrasound-accelerated thrombolysis in treating patients with life-threatening pulmonary embolism.

3 May 2012

Misleading information about breast brachytherapy

One of the leading experts on radiation therapy for breast cancer says a new study in JAMA -- about breast cancer treatment - has misleading information and may unnecessarily deter women from getting breast brachytherapy, a safe and effective treatment.

2 May 2012