Breast Cancer

Women who took raloxifene were less likely to develop invasive estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer compared with women who did not, according to data from a randomized controlled trial published online June 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The drug did not reduce the risk of non-invasive cancer or invasive ER-negative cancers.

CLEVELAND -- The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) has just released a supplement to its official journal Menopause to meet the need for current clinical recommendations for managing breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, except for nonmelanoma skin cancers, and is the second leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in US women in 2008 with 40,930 deaths anticipated.

Women who took raloxifene were less likely to develop invasive estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer compared with women who did not, according to data from a randomized controlled trial published online June 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The drug did not reduce the risk of non-invasive cancer or invasive ER-negative cancers.

MONTRÉAL, QC and WASHINGTON, DC -- A new study of nearly 6,800 morbidly obese patients shows that those who had bariatric surgery reduced the risk of developing cancer by about 80 percent, with breast cancer and colon cancer showing the greatest reductions. The study was presented today here at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

SAN DIEGO -- The Australian company Fermiscan, who is using a US synchrotron in the development of a new breast cancer screening test through the analysis of an individual's hair, has demonstrated an accuracy rate of 69% in detecting breast cancer. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(1) (US study), showed that breast screening using either mammography or ultrasound achieved no greater than a 50% sensitivity at detecting breast cancer. A sensitivity of 78% was achieved when techniques were combined.

MADISON, Wis. -- Patients with more concerns about their breast cancer are heavier users of online information, according to a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Excellence in Cancer Communications Research funded by the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, those in greater need were more likely to seek experiential information, such as stories about other patients or how to be a better health care consumer, as compared to more science-based content.

Kosan Biosciences Incorporated announced that its lead Hsp90 inhibitor, tanespimycin, demonstrated a high level of antitumor activity in a Phase 2 trial when administered in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin(R)) to patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer whose disease had either progressed after, or did not respond to, treatment with trastuzumab immediately prior to entering the trial.

CHICAGO -- Pre-menopausal breast cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy following surgery were more likely to have diminished ovarian reserve - the capacity of the ovaries to provide eggs capable of being fertilized - compared to women who have never had breast cancer, according to a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators.

BSD Medical Corp. announced the recent airing of a news segment titled "Putting the heat on cancer" on WPVI-TV (ABC Channel 6) in Philadelphia. The segment interviewed patients and clinicians at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Philadelphia and highlighted the important role that hyperthermia therapy can play in cancer treatment. CTCA purchased BSD equipment and began to use hyperthermia therapy in its cancer treatment program in 2007.

At the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), data were presented from a phase II investigator-sponsored trial paclitaxel poliglumex (OPAXIO(TM), CT-2103) in combination with capecitabine in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The goals of the study were to explore the tolerability and objective anti-tumor response rate as well as the disease-free progression and survival times of the regimen.