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Medicineworld.org: Archives of breast cancer news blog
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Archives Of Breast Cancer News Blog From Medicineworld.Org
Pain Medications Prevent Cancer
These study findings were reported in the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. The researchers have found significant chemopreventive effects against breast cancer with the regular use of Cox-2 inhibitors and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The study was conducted by Dr. Randall Harris, professor and director of the Center for Molecular Epidemiology and Environmental Health in The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Randall Harris and colleagues conducted a large case-control study of Cox-2 inhibitors and studied their impact upon the four leading types of cancer in the United States: breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer. COX-2 inhibitors are non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs that specifically block the COX-2 enzyme pathway that is often activated in inflammation, cancer, heart disease and other disorders. Harris and his colleagues studied the use of celecoxib (Celebrex), rofecoxib (Vioxx), regular aspirin, low-dose aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen among 323 women with breast cancer from 1999-2004......... Posted by: Janet Permalink Source Pain Killer Fights Breast Cancer
Robert Brueggemeier
The drug is called nimesulide. In laboratory experiments on breast cancer cells, researchers found that derivatives of nimesulide stopped the production of aromatase, the enzyme implicated in estrogen-dependent breast cancer. This form of breast cancer is the most common kind of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Aromatase converts hormones called androgens into estrogens, such as the hormone estradiol. Estrogen is a powerful mitogen - an agent that causes cells to divide, and too much estrogen can cause cells to divide too quickly. While a number of women with estrogen-dependent breast cancer take aromatase inhibitors to control their disease, the problem is that the current inhibitor drugs halt estrogen production throughout the body, said Robert Brueggemeier, a co-author of study and a professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy and dean of the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State University. "That means that other tissues, like bone and brain, which rely on normal aromatase production, may suffer," he said. "For one, we believe that aromatase helps to maintain bone tissue throughout the postmenopausal period. Current aromatase inhibitors may disturb normal bone production - there is some suggestion that these drugs may increase the risk of fractures"......... Posted by: Janet Permalink Source Exercise And Weight Training Programs Benefit Breast Cancer Patients
The study indicates six months of twice weekly exercise that improved strength and body composition was enough to result in improvements in the overall physical and emotional condition of the patients. This is the first randomized trial to study the effects of weight training on quality of life in breast cancer patients. Newly diagnosed and treated breast cancer patients often suffer from a multitude of quality of life limiting complaints, including insomnia, weight gain, chronic fatigue, depression, and anxiety. While efficacious treatments for breast cancer have progressed rapidly in recent years, developing new management strategies for these secondary complaints, often related to the treatment itself, is only a recent area of study. Exercise has been identified as a possible treatment for quality of life-limiting symptoms. A recent review of the effect of aerobic exercise on quality of life among recently treated breast cancer survivors indicated an effect only half as large as the effect noted from six months of strength training. This study represents the first exploration of the effect of strength training on quality of life among breast cancer survivors. ........ Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Avastin And Taxol For Breast Cancer
Avastin is an anti-angiogenesis drug that works by blocking the formation of new blood vessels by the growing cancer cells. Some claim that the combination of chemotherapy and Avastin works better by facilitating chemotherapy delivery to the cancer cells. This new research studied effectiveness of Avastin in combination with Taxol. The study enrolled in total of 722 patients with advanced breast cancer. The study found that combination of Avastin and Taxol was capable of keeping the cancer stable for a period of 11.4 months in women who received the drug combo compared to 6.11 months in patients who had only been given Taxol. Researchers say that this presents yet another option for patients with advanced breast cancer. "These results are good news for people with breast cancer," said Zon who presented the results of the trial sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute at the 5th European Breast Cancer Conference in Nice, France......... Posted by: Sherin Permalink Microwave Technique To Detect Breast Cancer
Cutting edge research done by Dr. David Smith from Northumbria's School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences could lead to a safer and more effective way of screening for breast cancer. Microwave-based techniques are capable of generating high-quality holographic images of hidden objects such as tumors. Medical Research Council is offering a research award to Dr. Smith and one associate to spend time at Newcastle University's Medical School to learn at first hand how the technology can be applied. Dr. Smith is expected to work with Professor Tom Lennard, Head of Surgery at Newcastle University Medical School, and will be able to use false breasts with a simulated tumour to test the technique. "We already have proof of concept - we know microwave images can detect the difference in materials - but this collaboration will allow us to use more realistic samples and take this project a stage further,'' said Dr Smith. Using holograms to detect breast cancer is more effective, cheaper and safer than X-rays. X-rays could be dangerous when used in higher doses but microwave radiation, on the other hand, is harmless to humans......... Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Treatment of milk-duct growths
The study sought to determine whether women with a condition known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - in which abnormal cells appear in the milk ducts, but which may later invade adjacent tissue - can sufficiently protect themselves from a recurrence solely by undergoing surgery to remove the DCIS and a sizable margin of surrounding tissue. Standard therapy for the condition involves surgery followed by radiation treatment and, frequently, a prescription for the drug tamoxifen. "Improvements in mammographic screening and microscopic examination of abnormal breast cells have given us the ability to detect smaller and smaller areas of DCIS," says the study's lead author, Julia Wong, MD, of Radiation Oncology at Dana-Farber. "We know from prior studies that breast-conserving surgery followed by radiation treatment reduces recurrence rates by 50 to 60 percent. But radiation treatment hasn't been shown to improve survival rates; it's also time-consuming and can have some undesirable side effects. As a result, there has been an interest in identifying patients with small DCIS growths who might be effectively treated with surgery alone."........ Posted by: Emily Permalink Source Non-brca Breast Cancer And New Cancers
Women with hereditary (non-BRCA) breast cancer are estimated to be at up to six times greater risk of developing a second primary malignancy in the other breast than the general population is of developing primary breast cancer. Young age at first diagnosis, family history of breast cancer, and confirmed BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations are the primary risk factors for CBC. However, the contribution of non-BRCA hereditary cancers to the risk of CBCs is poorly understood. Led by Katarina Shahedi, M.D. of the Umeå University and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, scientists reviewed data from 120 families and 204 women with unilateral breast cancer and a family history of breast cancer but no BRCA mutations to better characterize the CBC risk for these women......... Posted by: Emily Permalink Read more.... January 23, 2006, 6:21 PM CT Usage Of Online Support Groups For Breast Cancer
The percentage of women with breast cancer participating in online support groups is significant and has been growing steadily over the past decade. This new research provides insights about the characteristics of women who are more likely to participate in these groups when barriers to computers and Internet access are removed. In the study conducted at the UW-Madison Center of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research, 144 women who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer were provided free computer hardware, Internet access and training in how to use an online health education and support system, which they were able to use for six months. The scientists then examined who was most likely to use the online support groups. While socioeconomic status did not generally predict participation in these groups, there were trends toward more active participants expressing more positive physical, psychological and social status than less active participants. Specifically, there were trends toward more active participants reporting higher energy levels, a more positive doctor-patient relationship, fewer concerns about breast cancer and higher perceptions of support from one's family......... Posted by: Emily Permalink January 10, 2006, 6:04 PM CT Can you become pregnant after breast cancer treatment?
Their findings may ultimately enable physicians to identify at-risk breast cancer patients who could benefit from fertility-preserving therapys, said Carey Anders, M.D., lead author of the study. Infertility is a common side effect of cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation, because such therapies can damage rapidly dividing cells such as granulosa cells in the ovaries. No method exists to identify which women are at greatest risk of premature ovarian failure, defined as the loss of menses for more than six months. Often times, the condition is permanent. In the current study, the scientists showed that women who developed premature ovarian failure had lower levels of the ovarian hormone inhibin A before chemotherapy and six months after chemotherapy had ended. Their levels of inhibin B were also lower six months after chemotherapy. Conversely, women who resumed menses after therapy had higher levels of inhibin A before receiving chemotherapy and six months afterward. The same effects were seen with another ovarian hormone, estradiol. Results of the study will be presented Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium......... Posted by: Emily Permalink January 4, 2006 Surprising Rapid Emotional Recovery Of Breast Cancer Survivors
Researcher Tiffany Tibbs discusses breast cancer treatment with a patient.
"We thought we'd find that women do worse psychologically after treatment," says Washington University psychologist, Teresa L. Deshields, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine. "That's the clinical lore. After all, many of the patients referred to us are the ones struggling at the end of treatment. But our study shows that within two weeks most women adjust very well to survivorship". The research team surveyed 94 women drawn from patients of the radiation oncology practice at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The women, averaging 55 years of age, had stage 0, I, II or III breast cancer and at the start of the study were completing the last of a six- to seven-week course of daily radiation treatments. The women were surveyed five times: on their last day of radiation treatment, two weeks later, several days before their first follow-up appointment (four to six weeks post-treatment) and at three and six months. The survey measured patients' depressive symptoms and quality of life (the quality of life measurement quantifies a set of attributes that include physical, social/family, emotional and functional well-being, and breast-cancer-specific concerns). For the group of breast-cancer survivors, the average score for indications of depression was heightened at the end of treatment compared to a group of healthy men and women. A higher score on the depression index indicates more severe depressive symptoms......... Emily Permalink Older Blog Entries 1 2 3 4 5
Did you know?
Scientists from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) who conducted the landmark Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT), report a seven-year and final update of the trial results in the November 16, 2005, Journal of the National Cancer Institute*. In this final report, reductions in breast cancer incidence among participants taking tamoxifen were found to be very similar compared to those reported in 1998 when initial findings from the BCPT were released. The conclusion is supported by the observation that the incidence rate of breast cancer was relatively constant through seven years of follow-up among women who received tamoxifen and by the fact that the rate remained stable for at least two years beyond the time that women stopped taking the drug. The risks of stroke, deep-vein thrombosis, and cataracts -- possible side-effects of tamoxifen treatment -- were also similar to those reported previously.
Medicineworld.org: Archives of breast cancer news blog
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