African-American women with advanced breast cancer often forego vital treatment – A new study finds that nearly one in four African American women with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, potentially life saving therapies.
HRT-breast cancer risk stays same, regardless of family history – HRT conveys no greater breast cancer risk to women with, versus without, a first-degree family history of breast cancer. – The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded.
Low-income breast cancer patients skipping hormonal therapy, increasing their risks – Many low-income women are failing to take the hormonal therapy prescribed as part of their breast cancer treatment, possibly lowering their survival rates, according to a study led by a researcher in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Hormone therapy offers potential protective effect against colon cancer in older women – In a large study, a national team of researchers led by Mayo Clinic scientists observed that self-reported use of hormone therapy was associated with a significantly lower colorectal cancer risk. However, the mechanisms for the apparent protective association are still unclear.
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.
One in eight women in the United States will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer in their lifetime, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Now a new test will help physicians determine the best possible treatment for each patient. – A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.
New research helps predict which breast cancer patients may benefit from preventive mastectomy of opposite breast – A preventive procedure to remove the unaffected breast in breast cancer patients with disease in one breast may only be necessary in patients who have high-risk features as assessed by examining the patient’s medical history and pathology of the breast cancer, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Reduced breast cancer risk: Physical activity after menopause pays off – Several studies had previously suggested that regular physical exercise reduces the breast cancer risk of women. However, it had been unknowned just how much exercise women should take in which period in life in order to benefit from this protective effect.
Hormone therapy linked to brain shrinkage, but not lesions – Two new studies show that hormone therapy for women is linked to brain shrinkage, but not to the small brain lesions that are the first sign of cerebrovascular disease.
Study links obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight. – A new epidemiological study has found that among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy, obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight.
The Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) in New Zealand ruled that endosulfan would be banned from use as an insecticide on crops and turf. – Endosulfan – a chemical used as an insecticide on crops and turf – use prohibited in New Zealand.
Diet loaded with fruits, vegetables and fiber may cut risk of breast cancer recurrence in women without hot flashes. – A secondary analysis of a large, multicenter clinical trial has shown that a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables and fiber and somewhat lower in fat compared to standard federal dietary recommendations cuts the risk of recurrence in a subgroup of early-stage breast cancer survivors ? women who didn’t have hot flashes ? by approximately 31 percent.
