Breast cancer is the abnormal growth and uncontrolled division of cells in the breast. Cancer cells invade and destroy surrounding normal tissue, and can spread throughout the body via blood or lymph fluid (clear fluid bathing body cells) to start a new cancer in another part of the body.
Study shows chemotherapy improves survival among older breast cancer patients – The average age of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 63, so it is critical to have effective proven, therapies for an older patient population.
UNC study identifies genetic cause of most common form of breast cancer – Defects in the p18 gene have been observed in different types of human cancer. – The discovery of tumor-suppressor genes has been key to unlocking the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation ? the hallmark of cancer.
Junghans named PI in $5.9 million breast cancer grant – Richard Junghans, MD, associate professor of surgery at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Chief of Surgical Research was named principal investigator of a grant to research how breast cancer patients’ own cells can be modified to fight their disease.
Genes found to play a role in breast cancer’s spread to the brain – New research led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) identifies three genes that specifically mediate the metastasis, or spread, of breast cancer to the brain and illuminates the mechanisms by which this spread occurs.
African-American Women Still Have Poorer Breast Cancer Outcomes. New Study in Journal of the American College of Surgeons Finds Large Disparities in Care, Treatment Compared with Caucasian Women. – New research published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that dramatic disparities in breast cancer outcomes continue to exist for African-American women, regardless of the age at which they are diagnosed, extent of the cancer, type of treatment or socioeconomic status.
Mother-daughter breast density study points way to earlier cancer risk assessment – A unique mother-daughter study that used magnetic resonance to measure breast density in younger women shows that percent of breast water could be linked to the risk of breast cancer in middle age and older.
Scientists discover how to improve immune response to cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital. – Researchers have discovered how to trigger an improved immune response to cancer that could be included in new clinical trials that use a patient’s own cells to destroy tumours.
American Cancer Society awards 143 research grants to investigators at 83 institutions nationwide. Grants total more than $51 million in the second of two cycles for 2009. – The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 143 national research and training grants totaling more than $51 million in the second of two grant cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning July 1, 2009.
New research shows that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer. – Walnut consumption may provide the body with essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.
StopWatch Media’s ‘Clinical Trials’ medical app puts government database at fingertips of physicians and health care practitioners. – Before today, searching for one of more than 71,500 clinical trials in the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health database required a chair, computer, internet connection, and a session on the government’s clinical trials website.
For a woman in the screening subset of mammography-detectable cancers, there is a less than 5% chance that a mammogram will save her life. – Women are often told that mammography saves lives. But rarely is the question asked, ‘how often?’
Risk of aggressive breast cancer subtype 3 times higher for black women – Lifestyle, age and weight have all been considered as risk factors for breast cancer. Now a study published in the open access journal Breast Cancer Research has found that even taking these factors into consideration, black women face three times the risk of developing an aggressive ‘triple negative tumour’ compared to women of other racial backgrounds.
