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For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, according to a study by Chandwani et al published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. While simple stretching activities counteracted fatigue, patients who participated in yoga exercises ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Brinton et al assessed the role of anthropometric, medical history, and hormone-related factors in male breast cancer in the Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project. Factors found to be associated with risk included height,...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jagsi et al found that use of breast reconstruction in patients with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy has increased over time but varies according to a number of treatment and demographic characteristics. Study Details The study involved ...
A common compound known to fight lymphoma and skin conditions actually has a second method of action that makes it particularly deadly against certain aggressive breast tumors, according to a study reported by Xia et al in PLOS ONE. The compound, psoralen, is a natural component found in foods such ...
There is currently a lack of reliable methods for distinguishing ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that would never become symptomatic from DCIS that is likely to progress to life-threatening invasive cancer. Spurred by uncertainty about the optimal clinical management of DCIS, researchers have...
Pathologic complete response has been proposed as a surrogate endpoint for long-term clinical benefit in breast cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established the international Collaborative Trials in Neoadjuvant Breast Cancer working group to perform a pooled analysis of...
New research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Georgia Regents University has found that a protein that regulates an inflammatory pathway does not turn off in breast cancer, resulting in an increase in cancer stem cells. This finding may provide a potential target for...
Using whole-genome mRNA-expression profiling, researchers have identified three molecular subtypes of muscle-invasive bladder cancers that shared molecular features with basal and luminal breast cancers. The findings have important implications for prognostication, the future clinical development...
In a population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vaz-Luis et al assessed duration and toxicity of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in older patients with early-stage breast cancer. They found that age and comorbidity affected treatment completion rates and that significant...
The 20-year follow-up of the Swedish Uppsala/Örebro trial, reported by Wickberg et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that improved control of recurrence over 5 years with radiotherapy after sector resection in patients with stage I breast cancer is followed by similar...
In the SAFIR01/UNICANCER study reported in The Lancet Oncology, André et al used comparative genomic hybridization and Sanger sequencing on metastatic breast cancer biopsy samples to determine the proportion of cases in which targeted therapy could be offered. They found that screening...
As reported in BMJ by Miller et al, the 25-year follow-up of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study has shown no mortality benefit of annual mammography screening for breast cancer compared with physical examination or usual care. Mammography screening was associated with...
Scientists from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have uncovered the possible genetic origins of breast cancers that metastasize to the brain. The compendium of new genetic targets may be be used to identify potential methods of diagnosis and novel therapeutics for patients with...
The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) formed a multidisciplinary expert panel in 2013 to examine the relationship between surgical margin width and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and develop guidelines on margins for breast-conserving...
As mammography screening has shifted to digital technology, a range of computed radiography and direct radiography systems have emerged. Digital mammography screening with a new photon-counting technique offers high diagnostic performance, according to a study reported by Weigel et al in Radiology. ...
When comparing treatments designed to enable long-term breast preservation for older women with invasive breast cancer, researchers found those treated with brachytherapy were at higher risk for a later mastectomy, compared to women treated with standard radiation therapy. The findings, published...
Isolated locoregional recurrence of breast cancer is associated with high risk of distant metastasis and death. In the CALOR trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Aebi et al found that adjuvant chemotherapy after complete resection improves disease-free survival in patients with isolated...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kiecolt-Glaser et al found that yoga reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines and fatigue and increased vitality in breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 200 women with stage 0 to IIIA breast cancer who had completed...
Although controversial, reducing mammography screening frequency from annually to biennially for women aged 50 to 74 could save the health-care system billions of dollars annually and screen 15% more women compared with the current practice, according to a cost analysis by O’Donoghue et al....
A long-term follow-up study by Hartmann et al of patients with two types of breast tissue abnormalities—atypical ductal hyperplasia and atypical lobular hyperplasia—suggests that both abnormalities have the same potential to advance to breast cancer. The findings could help improve...
An early-stage study shows melatonin may have the potential to help slow the growth of certain breast cancer tumors, according to researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo. The study, published online in the journal PLoS...
A study by Almendro et al analyzed breast cancer tumors before and after treatment for important characteristics, including chromosome copy number, the presence or absence of certain protein markers, and their proliferative capacity. The scientists then used the data to develop computational models ...
As genomic testing becomes more common, genetic counseling is increasingly performed via telephone. BRCA1/2 mutation carries increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer. In a noninferiority study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schwartz et al compared genetic counseling for BRCA1/2...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Montgomery et al found that an intervention consisting of cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis produced better control of fatigue than supportive meetings with trained interventionists for women undergoing radiotherapy for breast...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Liu et al performed global proteomic profiling in samples from patients with triple-negative breast cancer in an attempt to identify a risk signature. They identified a novel 11-protein signature that independently predicts...
In a prospective study reported as a research letter in JAMA, Meretoja et al found that 50% of patients had mild pain and 16% moderate or severe pain at 12 months after surgery for breast cancer. Factors predictive of pain were chronic preoperative pain, preoperative pain in the area of surgery,...
In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Agarwal et al compared breast cancer–specific survival rates of patients with early-stage invasive ductal carcinoma undergoing breast-conservation therapy (lumpectomy followed by radiation), mastectomy alone, or mastectomy with radiation using the SEER...
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is standard of care for axillary staging in clinically node-negative breast cancer, and underuse of sentinel lymph node biopsy could be associated with unnecessary axillary lymph node dissection and lymphedema. In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Yen et al assessed the...
Triple-negative breast cancer may be considered a relative contraindication to breast-conserving surgery. In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Gangi et al from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles assessed outcomes in a large cohort of women undergoing breast-conserving surgery at their...
In an individual patient data meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Houssami et al found that preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was not associated with differences in local recurrence or distant recurrence compared with conventional imaging in women with breast...
In a phase III study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Roila et al compared aprepitant vs dexamethasone in prevention of delayed emesis in breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline/cyclophosphamide who had received palonosetron/aprepitant/dexamethasone prophylaxis for acute...
In a phase III 2×2 factorial trial (Neo-tAnGo) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Earl et al compared neoadjuvant therapy with epirubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel with or without gemcitabine vs paclitaxel with or without gemcitabine followed by epirubicin/cyclophosphamide in ...
Wider surgical margins did not reduce the rate of local recurrence in women with triple-negative breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy, according to the results of a study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Pilewskie et al reported that their data support the definition of ...
In a phase III noninferiority trial (ZICE) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Barrett-Lee et al compared oral ibandronic acid vs intravenous zoledronic acid in treatment of bone metastases from breast cancer. The study showed that ibandronic acid was not noninferior to zoledronic acid in preventing...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pan et al assessed factors associated with noncompliance with recommended radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer. A primary factor in underuse of radiation therapy was younger patients having...
Adding dasatinib (Sprycel) to a standard antihormone therapy, letrozole, doubled the time before disease progressed for women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a phase II clinical trial presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast...
As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by Di Leo et al, the final overall survival analysis of the CONFIRM trial has shown a significant benefit of fulvestrant (Faslodex) at 500 mg vs 250 mg in postmenopausal women with locally advanced or metastatic estrogen...
Adjuvant use of bisphosphonates reduced the risk of bone recurrence by 34% and the risk of breast cancer death by 17% in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer in a large meta-analysis conducted by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). The potentially...
There may be a benefit for treating small HER2-positive tumors and this can be done with little toxicity, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S1-04). Previous studies of chemotherapy plus anti-HER2 treatment for node-negative...
Women with HER2-positive, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer with mutations in the PI3K/AKT pathway may respond poorly to neoadjuvant therapy, German researchers reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S4-06). “We found that very few women with HER2-positive...
In postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy, low-dose tamoxifen did not significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer but did increase climacteric symptoms, according to the phase III study results presented by DeCensi et al in the Annals of Oncology. However, beneficial trends...
Five years of treatment with anastrozole reduced the risk of primary breast cancer by 53% in postmenopausal women at high risk for developing the disease, according to an analysis of the IBIS II trial. Anastrozole reduced the risk of estrogen receptor–positive invasive cancers by 58%. The...
Among older women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, it is reasonable to omit whole-breast radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery and neoadjuvant hormone therapy if the patient’s tumors have high levels of estrogen receptor expression, but radiation should remain...
Final results of the phase III NeoALTTO trial have confirmed the value of pathologic complete response to dual HER2 blockade in the neoadjuvant setting. The achievement of pathologic complete response was associated with significantly improved event-free survival and overall survival in some women...
Bevacizumab (Avastin) failed to extend invasive disease–free survival when added to trastuzumab (Herceptin)-directed adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in the phase III BETH trial. Although not specifically designed to answer this question, BETH also...
Re-examination of data from four large studies of the benefits and harms of mammography screening shows that the benefits are more consistent across these studies than previously understood and that all the studies indicate a substantial reduction in breast cancer mortality with screening,...
Women with HER2-positive breast cancer who had the highest levels of immune cells in their tumors gained the most benefit from presurgery treatment with chemotherapy and trastuzumab (Herceptin), according to results presented today at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S1-05)....
Data from a study by Ritu Aneja, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and colleagues indicate that overexpression of the protein HSET is a valuable prognostic biomarker in African American women with breast cancer, but not in Caucasian...
High levels of the cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol seem to function like estrogen and may independently drive the growth of breast cancer, according to the findings of a preclinical study by Nelson et al published in Science. They also found a possible connection between...
The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 trial suggested that efficacy of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) extended to patients with HER2-negative breast cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pogue-Geile et al identified and...