Breast Cancer News and Research

Latest Breast Cancer News and Research

Canadian cancer crisis due to aging population

According to a report by the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada's aging baby-boomers and the growing population are creating a cancer crisis, and while survival rates for many major cancers continue to improve, the Society projects that there will be 149,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed this year and 69,500 people will die of the disease, 3,500 more new cases and 1,200 deaths over last year.

12 Apr 2005

New test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing techniques

Speaking at the Institute of Physics conference Physics 2005 in Warwick, scientists will reveal a new test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing technique and capable of predicting for the first time whether a tumour has spread.

12 Apr 2005

Innovation, competitive prices to underpin uptake of diagnostic ultrasound devices

Across Europe, the pricing of ultrasound systems is expected to be central to its uptake. In addition to being competitively priced, products with an emphasis on innovation, user-friendliness, mobility and compactness are also expected to appeal to end-users.

12 Apr 2005

Tamoxifen still not popular with women at risk of breast cancer

Tamoxifen still not popular with women at risk of breast cancer A new study has revealed that less than one in five women eligible to take tamoxifen decided to take the drug after being told of its risks and benefits.

11 Apr 2005

New drugs help the immune system kill cancer cells

Researchers at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) announced today that they have discovered an effective way to enlist the immune system to help chemotherapy destroy breast cancer cells. The work, led by LIMR researchers Alexander J. Muller and George C. Prendergast, is reported in the March 2005 edition of the leading international medical journal Nature Medicine.

11 Apr 2005

FDA hearings on silicone breast implants

On April 11-13, the FDA's advisory panel on General and Plastic Surgery Devices will once again meet to review data on the safety of silicone breast implants. The panel will vote Tuesday on Inamed Corporation's application for approval, and on Wednesday on Mentor Corporation's application.

11 Apr 2005

Public-health efforts to increase the use of breast-cancer screening appear to have altered the types of breast cancer being diagnosed

Since 1980, the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, one of the most common kinds of early stage breast cancer, has increased more than sevenfold. This sharp increase in DCIS – which is a tumor that contains cancer-like cells but is not considered "true" cancer because the cells have not invaded normal breast tissue – has been accompanied by a flattening in the incidence of true invasive breast cancer.

11 Apr 2005

Competition in health care may not result in better quality

For several decades, competition within the health care industry has been touted as the way to curb rising prices by reducing inefficient practices and improving quality and safety. But a study of 341 HMOs suggests that more competition may not automatically solve price and quality-of-care problems as hoped for by legislators, regulators and employers.

7 Apr 2005

Osteoporosis drug reduces women's risk of mild cognitive impairment

A drug prescribed for the prevention of osteoporosis reduced women's risk of mild cognitive impairment by 33 percent in a worldwide clinical trial led by researchers at San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

6 Apr 2005

Studies examine menopausal hormone therapy and risk of breast cancer recurrence

The doses of estrogen and progestogen used in menopausal hormone therapy may be related to the risk of breast cancer recurrence, according to a new study in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

5 Apr 2005

Genetic testing could bolster radiotherapy's effectiveness against cancer

Obtaining a genetic picture of how a tumor will react to the many treatment techniques available could help doctors prescribe therapies customized for individual cancer patients' needs, suggests a Purdue University research team.

5 Apr 2005

Sildenafil prevents anti-cancer drug induced heart damage

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that the popular impotence drug Viagra prevents damage to the heart from a potent chemotherapeutic agent frequently used in the treatment of breast cancer, leukemia and sarcomas.

5 Apr 2005

Exposure to organochlorine compounds increases the risk of suffering colorectal cancer

A team of researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, The Catalan Institute of Oncology and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) have published a study indicating that exposure to organochlorine compounds, which we ingest in our diets, increases the risk of suffering colorectal cancer.

3 Apr 2005

First North American trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer

Today, a new clinical trial evaluating a novel approach to breast cancer prevention launched in the United States and Canada. Called the ExCel research study, this is the first North American clinical trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer.

30 Mar 2005

Herceptin - more powerful treatment for patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer

A new use of the drug Herceptin appears to offer a much more powerful treatment advantage than expected for patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

29 Mar 2005

Depression and anxiety affects one in two breast cancer patients

Almost half of all women with early breast cancer experience depression or anxiety in their first year after diagnosis, reveals a study published in the current issue of the British Medical Journal.

29 Mar 2005

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass, usually a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. But a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis also found that raw food vegetarians have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

28 Mar 2005

Mutated BRCA1 genes cause ovarian cancer indirectly

Mutated BRCA1 genes cause ovarian cancer indirectly, by interfering with the biochemical signals one ovarian cell sends to another, according to a team of researchers led by scientists at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

28 Mar 2005

Diffusion MRI gives early indication if brain cancer therapy is effective

A special type of MRI scan that measures the flow of water molecules through the brain can help doctors determine early in the course of brain cancer regimen if a patient's tumor will shrink, a new study shows.

28 Mar 2005

New guidelines mean tailor-made drugs are on the way

Many experts believe a milestone has been reached with the issuing of guidelines for pharmaceutical companies to encourage them to gather and submit information about how genetic variations affect the way people respond to their drugs.

23 Mar 2005