Breast Cancer Information

The 30-year increase in breast cancer rates among Alaska Native women appears to be leveling off, according to researchers making a presentation on Tuesday at a cancer symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Is Breast Reduction More Dangerous for Morbidly Obese Women? As the obese population increases, more overweight women are consulting plastic surgeons for breast reductions. In previous studies, this group of patients had been thought to have higher complication rates. The authors of this study, however, found it to be as safe to perform large-volume breast reductions in morbidly obese women as slimmer patients.

Whether a painless, portable device that uses electrical current rather than X-ray to look for breast cancer could be an alternative to traditional mammograms is under study at the Medical College of Georgia. MCG is one of 20 centers internationally and the only place in Georgia studying new technology developed by Z-Tech Inc.

The simple application of a pain-relieving gel may reduce the breast discomfort some women experience during mammography exams, according to the results of a clinical trial published in the online edition of Radiology. "We now have something that we know reduces discomfort with screening mammography in women who expect higher discomfort - lidocaine gel," said the trial's principal investigator, Colleen Lambertz, F.N.P., a nurse practitioner at St.

The American Society of Breast Disease announces the opening of a career center to link breast healthcare professionals across all specialties with employers and educational opportunities. The new feature at the Society's web site at http://www.asbd.org will provide free listings of fellowships, residencies, as well as international and domestic volunteer opportunities.

Canadian researchers have discovered that there is a low risk of adverse effect from reducing pre-op chemo by up to 25%, according to findings published in the online journal ecancermedicalscience.

Biocon Limited, India's pioneering biotechnology company, and Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), a fully integrated biotechnology company, announced the launch of ABRAXANE® (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in India for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination therapy for metastatic disease or relapse within six months of adjuvant chemotherapy.

A federal grant will allow Johns Hopkins researchers to purchase a powerful $2 million computer that will speed up their efforts to find new ways to diagnose and treat brain disease, heart illnesses, cancer and other medical ailments.

Growing evidence indicates that exposure to irregular patterns of light and darkness can cause the human circadian system to fall out of synchrony with the 24-hour solar day, negatively affecting human health - but scientists have been unable to effectively study the relationship between circadian disruptions and human maladies.

A large study published in The Lancet Oncology has found that there are wide variations in cancer survival rates between and within many countries around the world. Professor Michel Coleman (Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and over 100 colleagues working on the CONCORD study analyzed 31 countries that provided data on cancer survival.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader in the breast cancer movement, and Convio, a leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations, announced today that Komen for the Cure is deploying Convio's integrated suite of on-demand software and services in order to more effectively communicate with and empower constituents, raise funds, influence public policy and support its mission.

Dr Sarah Cant, Policy Manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer says: "Breast self examination is widely practiced in the USA and is a strict and complicated routine that women are taught in order to check their breasts. It is not advocated by breast cancer charities in the UK or the Department of Health, who recommend that women just need to be breast aware.

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), a fully integrated biotechnology company, announced it has received approval from the China State Food and Drug Administration to market ABRAXANE® Paclitaxel for Injection (Albumin Bound) for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of standard chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. The Phase III clinical trials in the U.S.

A new study in the Journal of Communication reveals that access to an integrated system of internet health resources helps patients more than simply providing a list of URLs to accredited sites. Breast cancer affects one in eight women and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. Led by David H.

It is a staple of women's health advice and visits to the OB/GYN: the monthly breast self-exam to check for lumps or other changes that might signal breast cancer. However, a review of recent studies says there is no evidence that self-exams actually reduce breast cancer deaths.

Patients with a rare type of breast cancer may benefit from receiving radiation therapy in addition to surgery to prevent recurrence, according to a study in the July issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

The New York Times on Monday examined the debate among physicians on the value of recommending that women ages 80 and older receive annual mammograms -- a debate that has arisen because of the paucity of data available for this age group because large clinical trials traditionally focused on younger people and excluded the very old.

A gene that is overexpressed in 20 percent of breast cancers increases the number of cancer stem cells, the cells that fuel a tumor's growth and spread, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The gene, HER2, causes cancer stem cells to multiply and spread, explaining why HER2 has been linked to a more aggressive type of breast cancer and to metastatic disease, in which the cancer has spread beyond the breast, the researchers say.

Although annual breast cancer screenings are recommended for most women ages 40 and older, physicians debate the value of regular mammograms for elderly women, who are more likely to die from unrelated causes, the New York Times reports.

The Aurora® Breast MRI Society, a rapidly growing group of dedicated breast health specialists committed to advancing the use of cutting-edge dedicated breast MRI technology, debuted its inaugural issue of The Journal of Breast MRI. The Journal was produced as a platform for Society members to relay clinical information and best practices for the detection, diagnosis and management of breast disease.

Recently identified genetic markers, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that are associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of breast cancer do not appear to substantially improve the accuracy of existing models that use clinical factors to predict an individual's risk, according to a study in the July 8 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday that it had approved a new test that measures the strength of HER2 gene amplification in breast cancer patients so that decisions can be made about whether they should be given the cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab).

Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have made a key discovery about the mechanism of breast cancer metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads. Focusing on a gene dubbed "Dachshund," or DACH1, they are beginning to pinpoint new therapeutic targets to halt the spread of cancer. Reporting their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers led by Richard Pestell, M.D., Ph.D.

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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel genetic test for determining whether patients with breast cancer are good candidates for treatment with the drug Herceptin (trastuzumab). The SPOT-Light HER2 CISH kit is a test that measures the number of copies of the HER2 gene in tumor tissue. This gene regulates the growth of cancer cells.