Today we'll wrap-up last week's breast cancer news. Topics include hot flashes, fatigue, mammography and environmental BPAs. Links to the news and research below may be found on the treatment pages of the LATESTBreastCancer.com website.
Effexor and Catapres effective for hot flashes
Some breast cancer treatments may induce menopause and cause unpleasant side effects such as hot flashes. A September 12 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology compared Effexor (venlafaxine) to Catapres (clonidine) to a placebo for the treatment of hot flashes in breast cancer patients.
Both Effexor and Catapres were found to be effective in the management of hot flashes. Effexor resulted in a more immediate reduction in hot flashes, but at week 12, hot flashes were lower in the Catapres group. Reports of nausea, constipation and appetite loss were higher in the Effexor group.
A September 12 Family Practice News report on the study included a commentary which noted that the small size of the study was its "main weakness." In the end, only 35 patients took Effexor, 28 Catapres and 17 the placebo. A larger study would be needed to "reliably identify suspected differences between the study arms." Also, the study authors noted that the duration of the study may have been too short to adequately assess side effects.
Nonetheless, in the Family Practice News story, study authors said the "more rapid reduction in hot flashes suggests that venlafaxine is to be preferred over clonidine." They advised 37.5 mg daily in the first week, increasing to 75 mg "if greater efficacy is desired."
Fatigue after treatment associated with pain and depression
Last week EurekAlert! and the UPI covered a study from Spain on fatigue in breast cancer survivors. The study found that patients most affected by fatigue also suffered "episodes of depression, body image deterioration, neck and shoulder pain, and limited arm movement, possibly due to the surgical intervention," such as breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and mastectomy.
The lead author noted that these findings should "motivate" patient support programs to provide resources to improve psychological states and pain to improve fatigue.
Higher mammography rates associated with higher mastectomy rates
One of the goals of screening mammography is to detect breast cancer earlier to allow more women to undergo breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) instead of mastectomy. A recent study in Norway found the opposite to be true.
The study compared breast surgery rates before and after the implementation of a breast screening program and rates between those invited for screening and those not. Screening was associated with an increase in all breast surgery (lumpectomy plus mastectomy) and an increase in mastectomy rates.
A September 13 story in US News and World Report/HealthDay noted that the study did not investigate why mastectomy rates climbed. Possible reasons include overdiagnosis (detecting and treating tumors that might never have posed a risk), poor access to radiation centers (making mastectomy a safer option), improved breast reconstruction techniques (making mastectomy a less "dreadful" choice) and patient decision to undergo more aggressive treatment due to recurrence fears.
BPA may interfere with tamoxifen
There may be another reason to avoid bisphenol-A (BPA). BPAs, which are used to make plastics, have been associated with a variety of health concerns. According to recent study in cells, BPA may not only increase the risk of developing breast cancer, may also interfere with tamoxifen therapy. (Link to the study.)
On September 13, the San Francisco Chronicle covered the study. In the lab, when non-cancerous cells from high-risk patients were exposed to BPA, they started to behave like cancer cells. When these BPA-exposed cells were exposed to tamoxifen, they continued to grow. "The study found that healthy cells exposed to BPA and methylparaben started figuring out ways to bypass drugs like tamoxifen."
Avoiding BPA may not be easy. According to Dr. William Goodson, lead study author, ""It's used so much. We kind of swim in it." Still, efforts to ban BPAs are underway. A current bill (AB1319) on the governor's desk would ban BPA in sippy cups and baby bottles in California.
At LATESTBreastCancer.com, we'll continue to follow the latest breast cancer news and research. You may access links to news articles, medical journal abstracts and FDA information on every breast cancer test and treatment option on our website anytime.
Showing posts with label mammography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mammography. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Media Headlines from the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium
Breast Cancer Symposium 2011 is underway in San Francisco this week. Today we'll share the media coverage of some of the presentations.
Medical News Today: "Young Women With Early Breast Cancer Have Similar Survival With Breast Conservation, Mastectomy"
More young women under 40 with breast cancer are choosing mastectomy over breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in part because of concerns about recurrence. Two presentations suggest that there is no survival difference between women treated with a mastectomy and those treated with a lumpectomy plus radiation.
US News and World Report wrote about both studies. The first, presented a few days ahead of the Symposium, evaluated medical records of 628 women aged 21 to 40. Local recurrence and survival rates were similar for women treated with mastectomy and women treated with lumpectomy.
According to Medical News Today, the second study reviewed the records of nearly 15,000 women under 40 with breast cancer. Overall survival was similar between women treated with mastectomy and those treated with lumpectomy plus radiation. When women were matched with others with similar cancer characteristics, such as tumor size and lymph node involvement, there was no difference in overall survival.
HemOnc Today: "New tool may help predict breast-cancer-associated lymphedema"
On September 8, HemOnc Today shared a Brazilian study of a model to predict lymphedema before axillary lymph node dissection. The statistical model "demonstrated more than 70% accuracy for predicting the 5-year risk for developing lymphedema after lymph node removal during breast cancer surgery."
Dr. Jose Bevilacqua, a study author, noted that the model used "readily available clinical factors," such as age, BMI and number of chemotherapy cycles, for a "quick and easy estimation of individual risks of developing lymphedema after axillary lymph node surgery in women with breast cancer."
Drugs.com: "Syndax Pharmaceutical's Positive Phase 2 Data Supports Potential for Entinostat in Advanced Breast Cancer"
On September 6, Drugs.com printed a press release from Syndax about a positive phase 2 study of entinostat for advanced breast cancer.
For post-menopausal women with estrogen-receptor positive metastatic breast cancer, entinostat plus Aromasin (exemestane) improved progression-free survival and overall survival compared to placebo plus Aromasin.
A phase 3 trial is planned for early 2012.
US News and World Report: "Annual Breast Exams, Mammograms Still Key to Detecting Breast Cancer"
There's more fuel in the screening mammography debate. On September 6, US News and World Report/HealthDay covered a study from Michigan which reviewed breast cancer detection and treatment records from almost 6,000 women with breast cancer.
Overall, breast cancer detected by palpitation (feel) tended to be later-stage and more likely to be treated with a mastectomy and chemotherapy compared to breast cancer detected by mammography.
For women under 50, 48% of breast cancers were detected by mammography and 46% by palpitation. Dr. Andrew Seidman, an official of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), said, "Undoubtedly, this area will continue to remain an area of controversy for some, but certainly women in this age group would be well-served to know about this data."
Not every study we add to the LATESTBreastCancer.com website and database makes media headlines. Next week, we'll highlight some new research which is under the media radar. Please stay tuned.
Medical News Today: "Young Women With Early Breast Cancer Have Similar Survival With Breast Conservation, Mastectomy"
More young women under 40 with breast cancer are choosing mastectomy over breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in part because of concerns about recurrence. Two presentations suggest that there is no survival difference between women treated with a mastectomy and those treated with a lumpectomy plus radiation.
US News and World Report wrote about both studies. The first, presented a few days ahead of the Symposium, evaluated medical records of 628 women aged 21 to 40. Local recurrence and survival rates were similar for women treated with mastectomy and women treated with lumpectomy.
According to Medical News Today, the second study reviewed the records of nearly 15,000 women under 40 with breast cancer. Overall survival was similar between women treated with mastectomy and those treated with lumpectomy plus radiation. When women were matched with others with similar cancer characteristics, such as tumor size and lymph node involvement, there was no difference in overall survival.
HemOnc Today: "New tool may help predict breast-cancer-associated lymphedema"
On September 8, HemOnc Today shared a Brazilian study of a model to predict lymphedema before axillary lymph node dissection. The statistical model "demonstrated more than 70% accuracy for predicting the 5-year risk for developing lymphedema after lymph node removal during breast cancer surgery."
Dr. Jose Bevilacqua, a study author, noted that the model used "readily available clinical factors," such as age, BMI and number of chemotherapy cycles, for a "quick and easy estimation of individual risks of developing lymphedema after axillary lymph node surgery in women with breast cancer."
Drugs.com: "Syndax Pharmaceutical's Positive Phase 2 Data Supports Potential for Entinostat in Advanced Breast Cancer"
On September 6, Drugs.com printed a press release from Syndax about a positive phase 2 study of entinostat for advanced breast cancer.
For post-menopausal women with estrogen-receptor positive metastatic breast cancer, entinostat plus Aromasin (exemestane) improved progression-free survival and overall survival compared to placebo plus Aromasin.
A phase 3 trial is planned for early 2012.
US News and World Report: "Annual Breast Exams, Mammograms Still Key to Detecting Breast Cancer"
There's more fuel in the screening mammography debate. On September 6, US News and World Report/HealthDay covered a study from Michigan which reviewed breast cancer detection and treatment records from almost 6,000 women with breast cancer.
Overall, breast cancer detected by palpitation (feel) tended to be later-stage and more likely to be treated with a mastectomy and chemotherapy compared to breast cancer detected by mammography.
For women under 50, 48% of breast cancers were detected by mammography and 46% by palpitation. Dr. Andrew Seidman, an official of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), said, "Undoubtedly, this area will continue to remain an area of controversy for some, but certainly women in this age group would be well-served to know about this data."
Not every study we add to the LATESTBreastCancer.com website and database makes media headlines. Next week, we'll highlight some new research which is under the media radar. Please stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Breast Cancer News (8/3): Mammography, Hercpetin and the NCCN Guide for Patients
Today in breast cancer news, we'll highlight a study on the radiation damage caused by screening mammography, two studies on the neoadjuvant (before surgery) use of Herceptin and the new patient-friendly guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
DNA damage from screening mammography
Once concern in the screening mammography debate is the exposure to radiation. A July 29 study in the International Journal of Radiation Biology assessed mammography induced DNA damage, in the form of double-strand breaks, in cells of women with high and low risk of breast cancer. DNA double-strand breaks were induced by mammography in all patients, and the effects were "exacerbated" in high-risk patients. The researchers concluded, "These findings may lead us to re-evaluate the number of views performed in screening using a single view (oblique) in women whose mammographic benefit has not properly been proved such as the 40-49 and HR [high risk] patients."
Neoadjuvant use of Herceptin
Herceptin (trastuzumab) is used to treat HER2 positive breast cancer. This week, two studies addressed the use of Herceptin in the neoadjuvant setting, to shrink tumors before surgery.
A July 25 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that the neoadjuvant combination of Herceptin plus chemotherapy resulted in a high rate of pathological complete response (pCR), "defined as no residual invasive tumor in breast and lymphatic tissue." Women with pCR who continued Herceptin after surgery had "an improved long-term outcome." On the other hand, patients "without a pCR had an increased risk for relapse and death."
A July 25 review of five trials (515 patients) in Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) found the addition of Herceptin to chemotherapy in the "neoadjuvant setting improves the probability of achieving higher pCR with no additional toxicity."
NCCN Guidelines for Breast Cancer Patients
For doctors, the NCCN publishes Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology, which outline a recommended standard of care for the treatment of cancer. This week, the NCCN released a patient-friendly version for breast cancer called the NCCN Guidelines for Patients. It's a terrific starting point for the newly diagnosed, covering breast cancer development, detection, staging, and standard-of-care treatment options by type. It even addresses side effects, complementary therapy and caregiver issues.
Our website, LATESTBreastCancer.com, is an additional resource for breast cancer patients. Patients may explore the latest news and research on the standard-of-care treatment options mentioned in the NCCN Guidelines and up-and-coming tests and treatment options in development. In addition, subscribers may personalize their research to their pathology reports to see the test and treatment options applicable to them.
DNA damage from screening mammography
Once concern in the screening mammography debate is the exposure to radiation. A July 29 study in the International Journal of Radiation Biology assessed mammography induced DNA damage, in the form of double-strand breaks, in cells of women with high and low risk of breast cancer. DNA double-strand breaks were induced by mammography in all patients, and the effects were "exacerbated" in high-risk patients. The researchers concluded, "These findings may lead us to re-evaluate the number of views performed in screening using a single view (oblique) in women whose mammographic benefit has not properly been proved such as the 40-49 and HR [high risk] patients."
Neoadjuvant use of Herceptin
Herceptin (trastuzumab) is used to treat HER2 positive breast cancer. This week, two studies addressed the use of Herceptin in the neoadjuvant setting, to shrink tumors before surgery.
A July 25 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that the neoadjuvant combination of Herceptin plus chemotherapy resulted in a high rate of pathological complete response (pCR), "defined as no residual invasive tumor in breast and lymphatic tissue." Women with pCR who continued Herceptin after surgery had "an improved long-term outcome." On the other hand, patients "without a pCR had an increased risk for relapse and death."
A July 25 review of five trials (515 patients) in Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) found the addition of Herceptin to chemotherapy in the "neoadjuvant setting improves the probability of achieving higher pCR with no additional toxicity."
NCCN Guidelines for Breast Cancer Patients
For doctors, the NCCN publishes Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology, which outline a recommended standard of care for the treatment of cancer. This week, the NCCN released a patient-friendly version for breast cancer called the NCCN Guidelines for Patients. It's a terrific starting point for the newly diagnosed, covering breast cancer development, detection, staging, and standard-of-care treatment options by type. It even addresses side effects, complementary therapy and caregiver issues.
Our website, LATESTBreastCancer.com, is an additional resource for breast cancer patients. Patients may explore the latest news and research on the standard-of-care treatment options mentioned in the NCCN Guidelines and up-and-coming tests and treatment options in development. In addition, subscribers may personalize their research to their pathology reports to see the test and treatment options applicable to them.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Breast Cancer News Update: July 5
Today in breast cancer news, there are studies about the long-term impact of BRCA1/2 testing, surgery for metastatic cancer and personalized screening mammogram guidelines.
BRCA1/2 testing "likely to have a favorable effect" on breast cancer outcomes
Women with a family history of breast cancer often wonder if they should undergo BRCA1/2 gene testing to evaluate their personal risk of breast cancer. A June 29 study published in Cancer looked, long-term, at the actions taken by women who were tested. At an average of 5.3 years after testing, more than 80% of the carriers had chosen prophylactic mastectomy, ovary removal (oophorectomy) or both, suggesting that the testing "is likely to have a favorable effect on breast and ovarian cancer outcomes."
Surgery does not improve survival for stage IV breast cancer
Standard treatment for stage IV breast cancer involves systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy, but not surgery to remove the breast tumor. There has been some suggestion that removing the primary tumor may improve overall survival. A study in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, which can be found on our breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) page, compared a group of 236 patients who did not receive surgery to 54 patients who had. When patients were matched for the various cancer types, "surgery was not shown to improve survival."
Study suggests personalized screening mammography guidelines
Lately, there's been a lot of activity on the LATESTBreastCancer.com screening mammography page. The controversy involves when to start and how often a woman should have a screening mammogram. Today, the Los Angeles Times reported on a new study which suggests a more individualized approach. Instead of a "one-size-fits-all" guideline, the study presents a method for personalizing a screening schedule based on breast density and other risk factors. Under the proposed plan, a baseline mammogram at age 40 would be used to craft an individual screening schedule. As wise as this plan appears, practically speaking, it is uncertain if doctors are currently willing or able to invest the deliberation needed. A change in approach may not materialize until formal guidelines are altered.
Please check back tomorrow for more updates. Until then, all the latest news and research on any treatment option may be found on the LATESTBreastCancer.com at any time.
BRCA1/2 testing "likely to have a favorable effect" on breast cancer outcomes
Women with a family history of breast cancer often wonder if they should undergo BRCA1/2 gene testing to evaluate their personal risk of breast cancer. A June 29 study published in Cancer looked, long-term, at the actions taken by women who were tested. At an average of 5.3 years after testing, more than 80% of the carriers had chosen prophylactic mastectomy, ovary removal (oophorectomy) or both, suggesting that the testing "is likely to have a favorable effect on breast and ovarian cancer outcomes."
Surgery does not improve survival for stage IV breast cancer
Standard treatment for stage IV breast cancer involves systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy, but not surgery to remove the breast tumor. There has been some suggestion that removing the primary tumor may improve overall survival. A study in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, which can be found on our breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) page, compared a group of 236 patients who did not receive surgery to 54 patients who had. When patients were matched for the various cancer types, "surgery was not shown to improve survival."
Study suggests personalized screening mammography guidelines
Lately, there's been a lot of activity on the LATESTBreastCancer.com screening mammography page. The controversy involves when to start and how often a woman should have a screening mammogram. Today, the Los Angeles Times reported on a new study which suggests a more individualized approach. Instead of a "one-size-fits-all" guideline, the study presents a method for personalizing a screening schedule based on breast density and other risk factors. Under the proposed plan, a baseline mammogram at age 40 would be used to craft an individual screening schedule. As wise as this plan appears, practically speaking, it is uncertain if doctors are currently willing or able to invest the deliberation needed. A change in approach may not materialize until formal guidelines are altered.
Please check back tomorrow for more updates. Until then, all the latest news and research on any treatment option may be found on the LATESTBreastCancer.com at any time.
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