Breast Cancer
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. Moreover, little was known about which particular type of breast cancer is influenced by physical activity.
Answers to these questions are now provided by the results of the MARIE study, in which 3,464 breast cancer patients and 6,657 healthy women between the ages of 50 and 74 years were questioned in order to explore the connections between life style and breast cancer risk. Participants of the study, which was headed by Professor Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude and conducted at the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospitals of Hamburg-Eppendorf, were questioned about their physical activity during two periods in life: from 30 to 49 years of age and after 50.
A comparison between control subjects and breast cancer patients showed that women in the control group had been physically more active than patients. The scientists calculated the relative breast cancer risks taking account of the effect of other risk factors. Results show that the risk of developing breast cancer after menopause was lower by about one third in the physically most active MARIE participants compared to women who had generally taken little physical exercise.
Surgery can lower cancer risk in high-risk brca1/2 carriers
|
|
Removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, a surgical procedure referred to as salpingo-oophorectomy, in women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, can lower their risk of breast cancer by about 50 percent and their risk of ovarian or fallopian tube cancer by roughly 80 percent, suggest the results of a review of 10 published studies.
Prior research has shown that this procedure can help prevent breast, ovarian, and fallopian tube malignancies in these high-risk patients, but the magnitude of the risk reduction was unclear, lead author Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues explain.
To investigate, the research team searched PubMed, a large medical database, for studies that examined breast or gynecologic cancer outcomes in BRCA mutation carriers who underwent salpingo-oophorectomy. Data from 10 studies were included in the review, also referred to as a meta-analysis.
UK’s first breast cancer gene screen baby born
|
|
The first baby girl in Britain to have been screened before conception for a genetic form of breast cancer has been born, doctors said on Friday.
While a first in Britain, the strategy has been used elsewhere across the world to screen for the cancer-related BRCA1 gene variant, and the technique has also been previously applied by British doctors to avoid the transmission of other cancers and diseases.
In the current case, doctors at University College Hospital in London (UCL) had created a number of embryos through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for the baby’s parents and screened them for the variant BRCA1 gene.
Joint pain is increased in breast cancer patients
|
|
Joint pain is more common and more severe in women with breast cancer than age-matched women without breast cancer, researchers reported at the 2008 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The extent and impact of joint pain as a result of treatment for breast cancer should not be underestimated, Dr. Deborah Fenlon, with the University of Southampton, UK, noted, since joint pain may disrupt patients’ lives for years after treatment has stopped.
Fenlon and colleagues analyzed responses to questionnaires completed by 247 women with breast cancer following treatment and 272 women without breast cancer having routine mammograms. The average time since diagnosis in the breast cancer group was 36 months.
Computer-Aided Mammography Finds More Cancer, More False Positives
|
|
Computer programs designed to help radiologists could identify more cases of breast cancer, but they might also increase the number of false-positive results, which can lead to biopsies in healthy women, according to a recent systematic review.
Using computer-aided detection (CAD) mammography, “you do catch some cases that would have been missed if the mammogram had been read only by a single radiologist,” said review author Meredith Noble, a research analyst at ECRI Institute.
Typically, a radiologist examines a woman’s screening mammogram to check for signs of cancer. When using CAD with mammography, the radiologist still reads the mammogram, but a computer program also evaluates the mammogram and marks suspicious areas for the radiologist to review further.
European origin may up Latinas’ breast cancer risk
|
|
Among United States Latinas, a greater degree of European genetic ancestry is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, the results of a new study indicate. This could be due to environmental factors, genetic factors, or the interplay of the two, the study team suggests.
Latina women generally have a lower risk of breast cancer compared with European, African-American or non-Latina white women do, according to the report, which published in Cancer Research. This is partially explained by differences in the number of known risk factors; but genetics may also be involved.
Latinas are a group originating from genetically divergent populations, mostly Europeans and Indigenous Americans, note Dr. Laura Fejerman of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues. In their study, the researchers evaluated the genetic ancestry of 440 Latinas with breast cancer and 597 Latinas without breast cancer.
New statistical model could help reduce breast-lesion biopsies
|
|
A new method of characterizing breast lesions found during an MRI exam could result in fewer biopsies of benign tumors with the benefits of reduced pain and expense for patients and providers, according to a paper that will be presented today (Sunday, Nov. 30) at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Wendy DeMartini, M.D., and colleagues in the breast imaging department at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance developed a preliminary statistical model that breast radiologists could use eventually when deciding whether a lesion found on breast MRI is likely to be malignant or benign. Their retrospective review of almost 2,600 breast MRI exams performed during a four-year period at the SCCA found three crucial patient and lesion characteristics that, when used in combination, could predict the likelihood of malignancy, including identifying some lesions with probabilities of cancer close to zero.
Such a model, if confirmed by more research, could be beneficial because MRI exams are so sensitive that they reveal cancerous and non-cancerous lesions that often look alike and behave similarly when contrast dye is injected into the patient. Biopsy is often necessary to determine whether a lesion is cancerous. Statistical models may improve the ability to distinguish between such lesions and avoid unnecessary biopsies.
Tamoxifen easier on the brain than thought: study
|
|
Concern that treatment with tamoxifen and other “anti-estrogen” therapies in women with breast cancer may contribute to compromised brain function does not appear to be warranted, at least over the short term, according to a report in the medical journal Cancer.
Anti-estrogen therapy “did not have any significant effects on cognitive function, and I think it is safe to say that patients needn’t worry about cognitive side effects of these medications,” Dr. Kerstin Hermelink from Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany told Reuters Health.
Hermelink and colleagues assessed the effects of hormonal treatment-induced menopause and anti-estrogen therapy on cognitive function in 101 women with breast cancer. They used 12 cognitive tests to assess the patients before the start of cancer therapy, towards the end of chemotherapy, and 1 year after the start of the study.
Latinas more likely to regret breast cancer treatment decisions
|
|
Latina women who prefer speaking Spanish are more likely than other ethnic groups to express regret or dissatisfaction with their breast cancer treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Despite receiving similar treatment, Latina women were 5.6 times more likely than white women to report high levels of dissatisfaction and regret about their breast cancer treatment decision.
The researchers found that Latinas and other ethnic groups had similar levels of involvement with their doctor in deciding the treatment plan. But Latinas were more likely to say they would have preferred to be more involved in the decision making.
Scientists unravel breast cancer drug resistance
|
|
British scientists have figured out why some women develop resistance to the most commonly used breast cancer drug, something that raises the risk their tumours will return, according to a study published on Wednesday.
The findings could lead to new tests to determine which women are not likely to benefit from tamoxifen and who should be given other drugs, said Jason Carroll of Cancer Research UK in Cambridge, who led the study published in the journal Nature.
“We can use this information to predict which patients will respond to tamoxifen and more importantly which ones won’t,” Carroll told reporters in a telephone briefing.
“More importantly it gives us an idea of what we should be making drugs against.”
How women can improve their quality of life after breast cancer treatment
|
|
Women need to be well-informed about options for minimising harm from breast cancer treatment / Acting early could avoid long-term problems like lymphedema
Cologne, Germany: 6 November 2008. Opting for less damaging treatments, staying active and learning about the warning signs of lymphedema: that’s how women with breast cancer can avoid developing chronic lymphedema, according to the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). Women can learn more about how to protect themselves from this common and distressing adverse effect of treatment as well as handle the condition at the Institute’s website, http://www.informedhealthonline.org.
Protecting women’s lymph systems
Breast cancer treatment is becoming more effective, with a survival rate of more than 80% for this disease in Germany.
Review examines breast cancer prevention strategies in the United States
|
|
A new review outlines potential pharmaceutical, dietary, surgical, and other approaches to reducing the risk of breast cancer among women in the United States, and examines the evidence for specific recommendations.
The review says risk reduction strategies for women at average risk of breast cancer should focus primarily on lifestyle factors. Among the recommendations: aside from following general dietary recommendations for healthy eating, there is no clear evidence that specific dietary components can effectively reduce breast cancer risk; while all women should be advised to moderate alcohol use, women at increased risk of breast cancer should moderate alcohol intake or even avoid alcohol; women should maintain a healthy body weight, since gaining over 20 pounds during adulthood has been reported to result in an increased risk of breast cancer.
The authors say use of pharmacotherapy to reduce the risk should be individualized to each patient after a thorough discussion of risks and benefits as part of a shared decision-making process.
Breast cancer awareness month spotlights oral mucositis: Side effect of anticancer therapy
|
|
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.
Common gene determines if breast is best
|
|
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
|
|
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.
