Breast Health

Researchers from Italy have found that premenopausal breast cancer patients treated with triptorelin and chemotherapy were less likely to experience early menopause and were more likely to resume menses than patients who received chemotherapy alone.

Dr. John Collins presented a thorough review of the literature concerning the interaction of hormone replacement and breast cancer entitled "HRT and Breast Cancer: The Evidence and the Issues" with the following general conclusions

To review, the recent article in the Lancet that he discussed showed that there was a very small increased risk of breast cancer by taking hormones over a prolonged length of time. However, certainly this risk should be viewed in the overall context of risks and benefits.

The use of chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer can result in transient or permanent amenorrhea, and research indicates that each month of chemotherapy translates into 1.5 year of lost reproductive life. This is especially significant for women younger than 40 years, which accounts for 6% of the population diagnosed with breast cancer.

Recent studies have indicated that β-adrenergic signaling is involved in the regulation of immune responses to breast tumor cells, and data from in vivo studies show an association between β-adrenergic signaling with increased nodal involvement and development of metastasis but no effect on primary tumor growth. Based on this evidence, Dr Thomas I. Barron, from the department of pharmacology and therapeutics at Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, in Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues chose to explore the relationship between beta blocker use and breast tumor characteristics as well as breast cancer morbidity.

Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Other Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Relation to the Risk of Different Histological Subtypes of Breast Cancer: A Case-control Study

Breast cancer is a growing concern among premenopausal women. With an emphasis on this patient population, this article discusses the known risk factors for breast cancer; models for quantitative risk assessment; and strategies for modifying breast cancer risk, including screening mammography, prophylactic mastectomy, and primary pharmacologic prevention.

A report just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirmed previous studies which found that women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may develop denser breast tissue, which in turn may make it more difficult to detect breast cancer through mammography.

The relationship of sex hormones and breast cancer is a matter of concern of many women. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in industrialized countries.

FDA approval for bevacizumab (Avastin) as treatment for metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer should be withdrawn, according to a unanimous vote (6-0) of the FDA’s Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee. The committee convened at the request of the drugmaker (Genentech) to appeal an earlier decision by the FDA to remove the indication for bevacizumab to treat locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.

Upon hospital discharge it is not unusual for mothers of preterm infants to continue to meet all or most of their infants' nutritional needs through bottle feedings of expressed breast milk (EBM) because of infants' physiological immaturity and maternal concerns with an inadequacy of milk supply.

Evaluation of the Rupture of Silicone Breast Implants by Mammography, Ultrasonograpy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Asymptomatic Patients: Correlation with Surgical Findings

A prospective case-control study from Sweden has found long-term benefits of regular mammography screening, including a positive impact on reducing mortality.

A prospective case-control study from Sweden has found long-term benefits of regular mammography screening, including a positive impact on reducing mortality.

Breast cancer causes more than 40,000 deaths annually and is only second to lung cancer in cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States. Since early identification is key to prompt treatment and the best prognosis, it is crucial to identify women at risk.

A recent study found that postmenopausal women may be at risk of developing breast cancer, and that this risk is tied to factors other than family history.

The FDA recently approved a new genetic test, called Inform Dual ISH, that helps determine whether women with breast cancer have the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive type.1 In about 20% of breast cancers, the cancer cells produce an excess of the protein HER2 because of a gene mutation. HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive and respond less well to hormone therapy.

One in nine women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime, provided she lives to age 85. Most breast cancer is NOT genetically linked – less than 16%. In the study by Stavros et al., July 1995, – over 80% of all sonographic, biopsy proven, solid nodules were benign.

Doppler ultrasonography (US) is increasingly being utilized as an imaging modality in breast cancer. It is used to study the vascular characteristics of the tumor.

The duration of breast-feeding is associated with higher maternal ghrelin and pancreatic peptide YY (PYY) levels at three years postpartum, independent of other risk factors for metabolic disease, according to a study published in the April issue of Diabetes.

Consumption of food containing soy isoflavones does not appear to increase the risk of cancer recurrence or mortality among breast cancer survivors, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held April 2 to 6 in Orlando, Fla.

Among postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy, cessation of conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) therapy reduces the risk of stroke, and the risk of breast cancer remains reduced, according to a study to be published on April 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

An individualized screen evaluating epithelial cells from women's breast milk may provide insight into breast cancer risk, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held April 2 to 6 in Orlando, Fla.

Concern that risks outweighed the possible benefits of estrogen use caused the cessation of the Women's Health Initiative Estrogen-Alone Trial. However, researchers decided to continue monitoring patients for outcomes despite the study protocol discontinuation to gain insight into the long-term effects of the conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) therapy. What they found was surprising-and somewhat positive.

U.S. radiologists with higher annual screening volumes and focus have statistically significant lower false-positive rates and cancer detection rates during mammography, according to a study published in the April issue of Radiology.