Breast Cancer
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.
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.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is making experts available to discuss the risks, treatment and prevention options surrounding breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society more than nearly 183,000 patients nationwide will be diagnosed with the disease this year, with a little more than 6,300 new cases expected in New Jersey. And while the disease affects mostly women, men also can be diagnosed with breast cancer. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
CINJ experts available for comment include:
Deborah Toppmeyer, M.D., director, New Jersey Comprehensive Breast Care Center and director of the LIFE (Ladies Professional Golf Association In the Fight to Eradicate breast cancer) Center at CINJ; and associate professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Toppmeyer can discuss the molecular characteristics of breast cancer and how targeted therapies are helping breast cancer patients improve their quality of life. She currently is working on a clinical trial focusing on a new drug combination for women with triple-negative breast cancer. In advanced breast cancer, such as triple-negative, combinations of chemotherapy drugs to kill cancer cells result in response rates between 40 and 70 percent; complete response rates or clinical remissions are rare. Although there has been progress in prolonging survival in breast cancer that spreads to other parts of the body, the majority of women die from their disease. Dr. Toppmeyer also specializes in young women with breast cancer, a growing population.
Hormone therapy may cut breast cancer risk in some
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Hormone replacement therapy, which raises breast cancer risk for some women, appears to reduce the risk for those with a certain genetic mutation linked to the disease, researchers said on Tuesday.
Dr. Steven Narod of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and colleagues looked at hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, in post-menopausal women with a BRCA1 gene mutation that greatly increases their chances of developing breast cancer.
Among 472 women from nine countries, those who used HRT were 42 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not, Narod’s team reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
No mental effects seen with Arimidex
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Women taking Arimidex to prevent breast cancer can be fairly reassured that it won’t affect their mental capacities, British researchers report.
Arimidex, a. k. a. anastrazole, belongs to a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, which block the production of estrogen. There have been concerns that estrogen depletion might impair cognitive abilities in women, but the results of a new study suggest that anastrazole does not have this effect in women past menopause.
“These findings should be reassuring in the short term for postmenopausal women being treated with anastrozole, their clinicians, and carers,” lead author Dr. Valerie A. Jenkins concludes.
CSHL scientists identify new drug target against virulent type of breast cancer
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Tumor cells in a particular subset of breast cancer patients churn out too much of a protein called ErbB2—also often called HER2—which drives the cells to proliferate unchecked. Patients unlucky enough to be in this group—about one in four—have poorer prognoses and clinical outcomes than those who don’t.
The drugs Herceptin and Lapatinib, prescribed in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, have improved this picture significantly, but leave plenty of room for improvement: they suppress ErbB2 but are effective against less than half of ErbB2-producing tumors. Moreover, patients with tumors that do respond usually develop resistance to these drugs.
A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has just published research identifying an enzyme called Brk that may serve as a target for future drugs developed to fight ErbB2-positive tumors. Brk, they report, helps these tumors become virulent and is also implicated in the process through which the tumors develop drug resistance.
Women exposed to negative life events at greater risk of breast cancer: BGU study
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Happiness and optimism may play a role against breast cancer while adverse life events can increase the risk of developing the disease, according to a study by Professor Ronit Peled, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. An article on the study titled “Breast Cancer, Psychological Distress and Life Events among Young Women,” was just published in the British journal BMC Cancer (8:245, August 2008).
In the study, researchers questioned women about their life experiences and evaluated their levels of happiness, optimism, anxiety, and depression prior to diagnosis. Researchers used this information to examine the relationship between life events, psychological distress and breast cancer among young women.
A total of 622 women between the ages of 25 and 45 were interviewed: 255 breast cancer patients and 367 healthy women. “The results showed a clear link between outlook and risk of breast cancer, with optimists 25 percent less likely to have developed the disease. Conversely, women who suffered two or more traumatic events had a 62 percent greater risk,” Peled said. “Young women who have been exposed to a number of negative life events should be considered an ‘at-risk’ group for breast cancer and should be treated accordingly.”
Breast Asymmetry After Cancer Treatment Affects Quality of Life
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Most women with breast cancer assume that surgery to preserve their breast will be less disfiguring than a mastectomy that removes the entire breast.
But nearly one-third of women reported pronounced asymmetry between their breasts, and that perceived disfigurement greatly affects a woman’s quality of life after treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The researchers found that compared to women with little to no breast asymmetry, women whose affected breast looked significantly different were twice as likely to fear their cancer recurring and to have symptoms of depression. These women were also more likely to perceive themselves as less healthy and to feel stigmatized by their breast cancer treatment.
Canadian film festival to highlight breast cancer
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Toronto will host a movie event billed as the world’s first-ever film festival dedicated to breast cancer awareness, a Canadian charity said.
Breast Fest will showcase feature-length and short films, documentaries, animation, and experimental works that highlight breast cancer, an illness that afflicts more than 1 million women worldwide each year.
“We want this to be international and we want people to be able to share their experiences with breast cancer from their perspective from within their country and their unique experience,” MJ DeCoteau, the executive director of the charity Rethink Breast Cancer which is organizing the event, said in an interview.
