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.
UCLA researchers find nanodiamonds could improve effectiveness of breast cancer treatment – Recently, doctors have begun to categorize breast cancers into four main groups according to the genetic makeup of the cancer cells. Which category a cancer falls into generally determines the best method of treatment.
Study examines outcomes of screening mammography for age, breast density, hormone therapy – Woman ages 50 to 74 years who undergo biennial screenings have a similar risk of advanced-stage disease and a lower cumulative risk of false-positive results than those who get mammograms annually, according to a study that compared the benefits and harms of the frequency of screening mammography to age, breast density and postmenopausal use of hormone therapy (HT).
US FDA approves Lymphoseek to help locate lymph nodes in patients with certain cancers – breast cancer & melanoma – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lymphoseek (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) Injection, a radioactive diagnostic imaging agent that helps doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer or melanoma who are undergoing surgery to remove tumor-draining lymph nodes.
Heart disease risk after breast cancer radiotherapy smaller than previously thought – Researchers have for the first time calculated by how much radiotherapy for breast cancer increases the risk of heart disease and the findings can now be used by doctors to help treat patients more appropriately.
US FDA approves new treatment for late-stage breast cancer – Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine) – a new therapy for patients with HER2-positive, late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer is approved by US FDA. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women. Almost 20 percent of breast cancers have increased amounts of the HER2 protein.
NIH scientists identify molecular link between metabolism and breast cancer – A protein associated with conditions of metabolic imbalance, such as diabetes and obesity, may play a role in the development of aggressive forms of breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Electronic health records shown to improve the quality of patient care — New Weill Cornell study provides compelling evidence that commercially available electronic health records are associated with better physician performance – A new study provides compelling evidence that electronic health records (EHRs) enhance the quality of patient care in a community-based setting with multiple payers, which is representative of how medicine is generally practiced across the United States.
A simple blood test could be used to detect breast cancer — University of Leicester and Imperial College London in study to determine whether DNA in blood could show early signs of cancer – A simple blood test could one day be a more accurate way to test for the early signs of breast cancer than using mammograms to spot a lump. Researchers reveals that the blood test could improve treatment by detecting whether breast cancer patients are likely to relapse and what drugs their particular type of tumour will respond to.
UNC Lineberger scientists lead cancer genome analysis of breast cancer — Team identifies genetic causes and similarity to ovarian cancer – The researchers, including a large group from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reported their study about genetic characterization of 800 breast tumors, finding some of the genetic causes of the most common forms of breast cancer, providing clues for new therapeutic targets, and identifying a molecular similarity between one sub-type of breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Lack of sleep found to be a new risk factor for aggressive breast cancers — First-of-its-kind study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment – Lack of sleep is linked to more aggressive breast cancers, according to new findings published in the August issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment by physician-scientists from University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s Seidman Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University.
Breast cancer charity under fire for overstating the benefits of screening — Experts challenge ‘pink ribbon’ creator for misusing statistics to generate false hope – Professors Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin of the Center for Medicine and the Media at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice argue that last year’s breast cancer awareness month campaign by Susan G Komen for the Cure “overstates the benefit of mammography and ignores harms altogether.”
1 in 5 women with breast cancer has a reoperation after breast conserving surgery — And more needs to be done to inform them about this risk – One in five women with breast cancer who opt for breast conserving surgery rather than a mastectomy have a reoperation. This information on the risk of reoperation should help women in making the decision about whether to undergo breast conserving surgery or mastectomy.
