Dec 27, 2005

Biggest Cancer News Of 2005

What's the single most important cancer news in the year 2005? Experts say that discovery of effectiveness of Herceptin (trastuzumab) in the early stage of breast cancer is the single and most important cancer news of the year 2005. These researchers point out that the effect of Herceptin was dramatic in these patients and cut down the risk of recurrence of breast cancer in half.

In the opinion of Linda Vahdat, who is the head of the breast cancer program at Weill Medical College of Cornell University this is the biggest news of the year.

Herceptin is effective in breast cancer that over-expresses Her2 gene. About 20 to 30 percent of all women who are diagnosed with breast cancer may have over expression of this gene and hence may be candidates for treatment with Herceptin. In these patients Herceptin is used in combination with chemotherapy.

Clinical trial results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in May 2005, use Herceptin and chemotherapy reduce the risk of recurrence of breast cancer in patients who over-expresses Her-2 gene by 52 percent. The risk of dying from breast cancer was reduced by about one third.

However Herceptin is not for every woman with Her2-gene amplification. Herceptin has a significant side effect of causing damage to the heart muscle. So caution should be exerted in using this drug in women who has only very low risk of breast cancer recurrence, since the risk of taking Herceptin may be more than the benefit in these women. Recently Genentec the makers of the drug and FDA have issued a warning stating that combined use of Herceptin (trastuzumab) and chemotherapy may significantly increase the risk of toxicity for the heart and should be used with caution.

Sherin      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Breast cancer
Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer ranks second as the leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Until recently breast cancer topped the list of leading causes of cancer deaths in women, but lately lung cancer has claimed the top position. If skin cancer is excluded, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among American women.