Cancer
Breast cancer awareness month spotlights oral mucositis: Side effect of anticancer therapy
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As millions of Americans participate in educational initiatives as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they should keep in mind an important yet under-recognized consequence of breast cancer therapy: oral mucositis, one of the most common and debilitating side effects of cancer treatment.
Oral mucositis (OM) is a painful inflammation/ulceration of the mucous membranes in the mouth. It results from erosion of epithelial cells in the oral cavity (cells lining the surface of the throat and esophagus) during cancer treatment. In addition to severe pain, patients with OM often have difficulty eating and swallowing, as well as greater susceptibility to infection. Needless to say, the effects of OM can have a profoundly negative effect on cancer patients’ quality of life.
Never heard of oral mucositis? You might be surprised to learn that the condition is estimated to affect more than 400,000 cancer patients each year. OM affects approximately 40 percent of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy, more than 70 percent of those undergoing conditioning therapy for bone marrow transplantation, and virtually all patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
Nearby tissue reveals liver cancer recurrence risk
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The key to whether liver cancer is curable may lie not with the tumor, but in the apparently healthy liver cells surrounding it, scientists said on Wednesday.
An international research team reported that it has identified 186 bits of genetic material whose activity levels in surrounding tissue predict whether hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer, is likely to reappear.
“What we found was that the information to predict future recurrence wasn’t in the primary tumor itself, but was in the surrounding non-tumor liver tissue, which suggests that the so-called recurrences aren’t really recurrences,” Dr. Todd Golub, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview.
Cancer Screening Rates Low Among Older Medicaid Patients
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Only about half of Medicaid recipients age 50 and older appear to receive recommended screening tests for colorectal, breast and cervical cancer, according to a report in the October 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
These three types of cancer are potentially curable when detected early, and eliminating disparities in screenings is part of the government’s Healthy People 2010 plan, according to background information in the article. “State Medicaid agencies are in a unique position to monitor and improve the quality of care received by some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” the authors write. “Medicaid is the largest provider of health insurance for minority populations in America. Medicaid recipients, by virtue of Medicaid eligibility criteria, frequently share other characteristics associated with health-related disparities: low income, old age, and/or chronic disability because of advanced disease, physical limitation, severe mental illness or developmental disability.”
C. Annette DuBard, M.D., M.P.H., of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and colleagues studied a representative sample of 1,951 North Carolina Medicaid recipients age 50 and older. Medical records were reviewed to determine whether physicians had recommended and patients had received cancer screening examinations.
Common gene determines if breast is best
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Breastfeeding is best for your child’s brain as long as a variation of a common gene is present in the baby, researchers say.
Breastfed children with a variant of the FADS2 gene, which is involved in processing fatty acids, score up to seven points higher in IQ tests than bottle-fed children.
But for those children without the variant gene, breastfeeding makes no difference to their intelligence levels.
Bone fracture ups risk of male breast cancer
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While rare, breast cancer can occur in men and a new study suggests that the risk of developing male breast cancer is increased by having a close relative with breast cancer, being obese and physically inactive, and “somewhat surprisingly,” suffering a bone fracture after the age of 45.
Dr. Louise Brinton of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues analyzed risk factors for male breast cancer among 324,920 men enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. A total of 121 men developed breast cancer during the study.
They found that men with either a sister, brother, or other “first-degree” relative with breast cancer had nearly a two-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer, compared with men without an affected first-degree relative.
Most women satisfied with cosmetic breast surgery
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In a survey of more than 300 women who had one of several cosmetic breast operations, nearly 97 percent of said that the results met or exceeded their expectations.
And while 43 percent of women said they experienced nipple numbness after cosmetic breast surgery, the problem persisted in only about 5 percent.
The survey included women who were treated over a 5-year period by Dr. Eric Swanson, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kansas.
‘Fantastic 4’ of breast procedures leave women extremely satisfied
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Injecting fat after breast reconstruction to correct implant wrinkling or dimpling may be safe and effective to improve breast shape, according to a study to be presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2008 conference, Oct. 31 – Nov. 5, in Chicago. Using fat injections for cosmetic breast enhancement; however, is still controversial and will be the subject of a panel discussion.
“My reconstruction patients could not be happier with the improvement fat transfer gives to the appearance of their breasts,” said Gregory Scott, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study co-author. “The initial implant reconstruction sometimes leaves them with contour deformities or wrinkling, but fat injections can correct these problems and give their breasts a smoother, softer, more natural appearance.”
The study looked at 21 patients who had 42 fat transfers for contour deformities or wrinkling. The injections were performed an average of 9.9 months following reconstruction. The fat was taken from the patients’ abdomen or upper thighs. The study found that fat injection to the breast for reconstruction is safe, improves breast shape, and corrects implant wrinkling.
Study links birth size and breast cancer
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Women who were bigger and longer babies may be more likely to develop breast cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday.
The study adds to evidence that, at least in some cases, something that happens in the womb may cause cancer later in life.
Previous research into links between birth size and breast cancer have proved inconsistent, but the findings published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine are strong evidence that the two may be related.
Poor mood persists for breast cancer patients
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Breast cancer survivors report feeling more fatigue and negative emotions in a typical day than their cancer-free peers, but round-the-clock monitoring demonstrates that their vital signs and level activity are no different, according to an international study.
The results “clearly point to the importance of complementary medical and psychosocial strategies for supporting posttreatment cancer patients,” conclude Dr. Paul Grossman of the University of Basel Hospital, Switzerland and colleagues in Germany and Canada.
While the physical and mental effects of cancer treatment are known to be long-lasting, how they correlate with actual physical processes like heart rate, breathing and activity levels are not well understood, Grossman and his team write in the medical journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Study finds association between hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer
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A new study has shown that evidence of past hepatitis B infection was twice as common in people with pancreatic cancer than in healthy controls. This study is the first to report an association between past exposure to the hepatitis B virus and pancreatic cancer, but researchers cautioned that more studies are necessary to evaluate the nature of the link.
“While our findings indicate that past exposure to hepatitis B is associated with the development of pancreatic cancer, more research is needed to determine whether this relationship is one of cause and effect,” said lead author Manal M. Hassan, MD, PhD, assistant professor at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. “If these findings can be confirmed by other studies, hepatitis B could be another risk factor for pancreatic cancer that is readily modifiable with treatment, and even preventable with a vaccine.”
In this study, Dr. Hassan and her colleagues compared evidence of hepatitis B and C infection (as determined by blood tests assessing antibodies to these viruses) between 476 patients with pancreatic cancer and 879 matched healthy individuals. Evidence of past exposure to hepatitis B was found in 7.6 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer versus 3.2 percent of controls. The association between hepatitis B exposure and pancreatic cancer remained statistically significant even after controlling for other risk factors, such as smoking. People with both diabetes (an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer) and hepatitis B exposure had a 7-fold increase in pancreatic cancer risk, compared to controls. No association was observed between hepatitis C exposure and pancreatic cancer.
Sex bias seen in control of cancer pain
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How well pain is managed in people with cancer apparently differs between men and women, new research hints.
Dr. Kristine A. Donovan, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues examined pain severity and the adequacy of pain management in 131 cancer patients newly referred to a multidisciplinary cancer pain clinic.
Men and women did not differ significantly in terms of worst pain scores, least pain scores, or pain interference. However, average pain in the last week and pain right now were significantly higher in women.
A Dipstick Test for Breast Cancer?
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A few drops of urine may reveal whether a woman is at risk for breast cancer, researchers led by Marsha Moses, PhD, of the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, have found. In tests, the urine of women with each of two types of breast cancer had markedly elevated levels of certain biomarkers that indicate increased angiogenesis—known as MMP-9 and ADAM-12—as compared with controls.
The discoveries, licensed to the company Predictive Biosciences, may lead to simple “dipstick” tests for breast cancer, catching the disease at the earliest stages or spotting a resurgence before it becomes a threat. Potentially, women whose urine revealed a risk for breast cancer could get more frequent mammograms and make lifestyle changes to minimize the odds.
Core Needle Breast Biopsies Safe for Patients Taking Blood Thinners
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It is safe to take anticoagulants (blood thinners) before core needle breast biopsies, according to a study performed at the Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic in Rochester, NY. Core needle biopsies are offered as an alternative to surgical biopsy when a tissue sample of an irregular area in the breast is found by mammogram or sonogram. “They are safer than surgical procedures, require fewer anesthetics, and are accurate,” according to Patricia Somerville, MD, lead author of the study.
The study included 200 women who were taking anticoagulants (blood thinners) and 855 women who were not. Adverse reactions, lumps and bruises, after a woman’s core needle biopsy were recorded. Results showed that lumps or bruising occurred in 34% of women who were taking blood thinners and 26.5% of women who were not taking them.
“Our study demonstrates that it is safe to perform core needle biopsies on patients taking aspirin and warfarin (another name for coumadin). Patients can remain on their medications and avoid surgical biopsy if the lesion is benign,” said Dr. Somerville.
The Methodist Hospital Is First in Houston to Treat Breast Cancer with the Contura Applicator
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A larger population of breast cancer patients now have a more effective treatment option for targeted partial breast radiation therapy that reduces treatment from months to days.
The Methodist Hospital is the first in Houston to use the Contura Brachytherapy procedure, which allows more breast cancer patients requiring targeted radiation therapy after a lumpectomy to be treated in five days, rather than six to seven weeks for whole-breast irradiation. In the past, few patients could take advantage of the accelerated treatment because the location of the tumor cavity was located too close to the skin and ribs.
The new Contura device allows Methodist physicians to control the radiation dose to the skin and ribs in a sophisticated manner by delivering treatment through five channels of therapy and target treatment from inside the breast. This new therapy also causes fewer cosmetic defects to the breast.
Breast Cancer and Women Under Age 40: A Growing Concern
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When anyone thinks of breast cancer, the face of a young woman doesn’t immediately come to mind. Yet, of the more than 200,000 women in the United States who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, about 11,000 will be under the age of 40.
“There are more younger women being diagnosed and we aren’t sure if this is due to earlier detection or if women are actually developing the disease younger,” said Deborah Kirkland, a former critical care nurse who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32.
Kirkland, who had no family history of breast cancer when this occurred nearly seven years ago, saw a need to be filled.
