Breast Health

Adjuvant therapy combining ovarian suppression with an aromatase inhibitor-a class of drugs typically only recommended for postmenopausal patients-may be more beneficial for premenopausal patients with breast cancer than tamoxifen.

The growing number of women who are opting for a double mastectomy after a cancer diagnosis suggests better education about the risk and benefits of the procedure is needed.

A new analysis of data from a nationwide hospital-based dataset shows that black women have higher odds of being diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer-a subtype associated with poorer prognosis-than do white women, regardless of socioeconomic status (SES). The report was published in the June issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

A Canadian study shows that women with diabetes are significantly less likely to have mammograms, even after adjustment for socioeconomic status and other factors.

A false-positive mammogram result leaves women anxious, but new research shows that the anxiety is short-lived and may have an unintended beneficial effect.

Don’t let time constraints and large patient loads prevent you from providing a thorough well-woman visit. Are you covering all the bases?

The safety of fertility drugs has been a concern to physicians and patients alike. A new study assessing fertility drugs and breast cancer risk has reassuring results.

Digital mammography is superior to screen-film mammography, and the digital technology has other patient benefits as well, a new study finds.

Mammography screening for breast cancer saves lives: this should be the message that physicians spread to colleagues and patients, say leading experts.

A new study with up to 25 years’ follow up is reopening debate about the value of screening mammography in women aged 40 to 59. Published in BMJ, the Canadian research found that 22% of women in that screening population-or 1 in every 424-had an over-diagnosed breast cancer.

The rationale for annual mammography in women aged 40 to 59 years needs to be reassessed in countries where adjuvant therapy for breast cancer is available.

Near-infrared spectroscopy paired with MRI works with all cup sizes and may minimize biopsies performed due to inconclusive MRI findings after an abnormal mammogram finding.

According to a recent observational study in JAMA Surgery, women with early-stage invasive breast cancers have higher rates of disease-specific survival when they undergo breast-conserving therapy (BCT) than women who undergo mastectomy.

Hot flashes and other vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women with breast cancer taking aromatase inhibitors were significantly improved after acupuncture, study finds.

The publicity surrounding Angelina Jolie's preventive mastectomy was a missed opportunity to educate the public about the true risks of BRCA gene mutation.

Mammographic screening at intervals

Human breast tissue tests link reduced amounts of mitochondrial DNA content with a greater incidence of metastatic breast cancer.

In 4 years, the rate of women receiving breast MRI nearly tripled, but it is underused in women most at risk for breast cancer and overused in women at average risk.

An ob/gyn continues to fill prescriptions for HRT despite a patient's breast cancer diagnosis.

Accelerated approval of Perjeta (pertuzumab) was granted by the FDA as part of a complete treatment regimen for patients with early stage breast cancer before surgery.

Postmenopausal women who walk at least 7 hours per week have a significantly lower risk of breast cancer than their less active counterparts. Those are the findings of a large epidemiologic study published in Cancer: Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

Breast density laws ensure that women receive critical breast-health information, supporters say, but many of the laws broadly classify breast density and fail to account for varying levels of risk.

Teens who eat peanut butter and other nuts may be at lower risk of benign breast disease (BBD) as adults, according to a new report published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

A new registry-based study sheds light on patient factors that may influence risk of breast cancer associated with use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT)-including race, weight, and breast density. Findings from the report, published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggest the greatest association between HRT use and breast cancer in women with low/normal body mass index (BMI) and extremely dense breasts.

In an update of its 2002 recommendation on use of medications for breast cancer risk reduction, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is encouraging informed decision-making and cautioning against use of medications for prevention in women who are not at increased risk of the disease.

The use of 40 Gy in 15 fractions over 3 weeks is as effective and causes less damage to nearby tissue than a higher total dose of radiotherapy for breast cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory committee cleared the way for the approval of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to treat patients before they have surgery to remove their HER2-positive tumors. If approved, pertuzumab would be the first neoadjuvant drug approval for any form of cancer. The drug was already approved by the FDA for treatment of late-stage breast cancer last year.

A new multicenter analysis shows that most deaths from invasive breast cancer occur in women who don’t get routine mammograms. The findings, published in Cancer, point to a need to encourage routine screening in women younger than age 50.

A recent study published in The Lancet Oncology looked at the likelihood of survivors developing arm lymphedema and found that roughly 20% of breast cancer survivors were likely to develop the condition.