Posts Tagged ‘breast cancer’
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Deaths caused by cancer are declining, reports the American Cancer Society.
A new report published in this weeks Cancer Journal for Clinicians shows that the death rate for men decreased by 1.8 percent per year from 2004 to 2008. The rate declined in women by 1.6 percent annually. The number of cases per year have also declined by 0.6 percent for men.
Despite the downward trends, pancreatic cancer and melanoma are steadily becoming more common. According to MSNBC, the number of deaths from cancer this year is expected to reach 577,000, while there are projected to be more than 1.6 million new cases in 2012.
Increases of the aforementioned cancers, as well as cancers of the liver, thyroid and kidney, have been linked to the rise of obesity. The higher numbers are also attributed to early detection practices, according to the source.
The report also found decreased death rates during the same period for lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Lung and breast cancer had the most significant decline, with 40 percent in men and 34 percent in women, respectively.
Data for the American Cancer Society study was reportedly taken from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tags:american cancer society, breast cancer, cancer, cancer research, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Conditions, Kidney Cancer, Liver Cancer, Lung Cancer, Melanoma, Skin Cancer | 3 Comments »
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
A new breast cancer clinical trial being performed nationwide may expedite the process of getting new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reports MSNBC.
The trial, given the name ISPY-2, is currently going on at 20 different medical centers and is backed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. Scientists are researching a method known as neo-adjuvant chemotherapy – administering the chemo-hormone therapy prior to surgery, as opposed to the current approach of post-op therapy.
The study will show real-time results via an MRI scan so that doctors can determine whether or not the drugs are shrinking the tumor, which gives faster evidence to compare current methods to. With a speedier process, treatments can become more precise, as it will take far less time to see the effects of certain chemotherapy drugs.
“The truth of the matter is if you’re going to die of breast cancer, you’re not going to die of the tumor that’s in your breast,” Dr. Laura Esserman, the study’s lead researcher at the University of California, San Franciscio, told the news provider. “You’re going to die because the tumor has spread outside the breast and those cells can take up residence someplace else in your body. The only way you’re going to save that person is to make sure that you eradicate all of those cells wherever they may be and the sooner you start with the whole body treatment, the better off you’re going to be.”
The clinical trials are reportedly sponsored by Safeway’s food chain’s charitable foundation.
Tags:adjuvant chemotherapy, breast cancer, breast cancer research, breast cancer treatment, cancer research, cancer treatment, chemotherapy, clinical trials
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Clinical Trials, Conditions | No Comments »
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Women with diabetes may be at a higher risk for breast cancer, as well as those who become obese as senior citizens, according to HealthDay.
While past studies have shown evidence of a connection between the two diseases, the link has not been sufficiently clear and further research was reportedly warranted.
Swedish researcher Dr. Hakan Olsson, of Lund University’s oncology department, analyzed the health information of more than 2,700 women over the course of a decade prior to developing breast cancer. He compared this data with the records of more than 20,000 healthy patients.
According to the news provider, obese women over the age of 60 were at a 55 percent higher risk of breast cancer. Additionally, the risk increased by 37 percent within four years of a diabetes diagnosis.
“Olsson also found a link between abnormally low levels of blood lipids or fats, mostly cholesterol, and a 25 percent higher risk of breast cancer. Women with higher cholesterol had a lower risk, he found,” reported the source.
Because the results of the study are so complicated, Olsson emphasized that further research must be done in order to clarify his findings. Part of the complex findings included both increased and decreased risk of breast cancer with various diabetes treatments.
The Swedish researcher presented his research last week at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Tags:breast cancer, breast cancer research, cancer, cancer research, diabetes, diabetes research, diabetes treatments, high cholesterol, obesity, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions, Diabetes | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Major progress is being made in breast cancer research, as scientists review two new medications that may slow the time period in between progressing stages of cancer.
According to the Canadian Press, when Genentech’s pertuzumab was combined with other standard treatments, patients went up to 18 months before developing advanced breast cancer – six months longer than those who underwent standard treatment only. Additionally, the drug has shown evidence that it extends the survival rate of sufferers.
Another drug, known as Afinitor, delayed cancer advancement by an average of seven months in those who were receiving standard treatment and hormone-blocking meds but were still declining. Afinitor, manufactured by Novartis AG, is typically used for organ transplants.
“These are powerful advances … an important step forward,” Dr. Harold Burstein, a breast expert at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told the news source. According to the CP, these developments are the newest since the introduction of cancer drug Herceptin in 1998.
Genentech has reportedly submitted its research to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review, so that it may be an option for those in the early stages of breast cancer in the future. Statistics did not show evidence of any harmful side effects.
“We’re really pleased that there were no new safety signals [and that pertuzumab is so promising],” Dr. Sandra Horning, global development chief of cancer drugs at Genentech, told the news source.
Tags:breast cancer, breast cancer research
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
A new study in breast cancer research revealed that partial breast irradiation therapy may leave women with a higher risk of needing a mastectomy in the future than if they underwent standard radiation treatment, reports Reuters.
Partial breast irradiation therapy, known as brachytherapy, is typically used in patients who are in the early stages of breast cancer, as it is a quick, more localized procedure than typical radiation. The treatment, however, may increase women’s risk of needing a mastectomy within five years by 200 percent. According to Benjamin Smith, a doctor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the heightened risk is due to returning tumors or complications from the radiation treatment.
“[Brachytherapy is] radiation administered to women through a catheter to kill breast cancer cells that might linger after surgery,” said the source. The procedure is most often done twice per day shortly after tumor removal, up to one week, while standard radiation therapy can last upwards of seven weeks.
“In our study of Medicare patients, we found a consistent increase in APBI brachytherapy, from less than 1 percent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2007,” Smith told the news source. “It’s our guess that this trend has continued.”
Within five years of undergoing brachytherapy, about 4 percent of the patients in the study had a breast removed. 2.2 percent of those who were treated with traditional radiation therapy had a mastectomy within the same time frame.
Tags:brachytherapy, breast cancer, breast cancer research, mastectomy, radiation therapy, tumor, tumor removal
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
There are important studies going on every day to improve the lives of suffering cancer patients. To commemorate a great year for these scientific efforts, the American Society of Clinical Oncology has released a list of the top five most important advances in cancer research in this week’s issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
1. Zelboraf, also known as vemurafenib, was found to be successful in prolonging the survival rate in patients with advanced melanoma, compared to patients who underwent “standard” chemotherapy. Zelboraf works by “targeting a key gene mutation in melanoma,” said ASCO experts.
2. One trial found that heavy smokers who underwent at least three low-dose CT scans per year had a 20 percent lower chance of developing lung cancer than those who went for chest X-rays instead. Further research must be done, as some medical professionals have concerns about false-positives and the high cost for patients.
3. A small percentage of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, who have a certain gene mutation, had their tumors shrink or disappear in one year or less when taking Xalkori (crizontinib). The positive results of two studies led to Xalkori’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
4. Metastatic melanoma patients got a better chance at life when the FDA approved Yervoy, also known as ipilimumab. The drug targeted the sufferer’s immune system, and added an average of two months on patients’ life expectancies when the treatment was combined with chemotherapy drug dacarbazine.
5. Researchers found solid proof that Aromasin, or exemastane, helped lower the risk of breast cancer for postmenopausal women. Evidence that the aromatase inhibitor was successful means a new preventative treatment may soon be available.
Tags:breast cancer, cancer research, lung cancer, melanoma, Skin Cancer
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions, Lung Cancer, Melanoma, Skin Cancer | No Comments »
Friday, November 18th, 2011
After months of review, the Food and Drug Administration has officially revoked its approval for the use of the drug Avastin in advanced breast cancer patients, reports MSNBC.
Despite pleading from many patients who attribute their survival to the use of Avastin, the FDA has determined that there is no evidence that it extends one’s life. The agency also reportedly declared that the drug had harmful side effects, including high blood pressure, “massive” bleeding, heart attack, heart failure and severe damage to organs.
“This was a difficult decision,” FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg told the news source. “[But] it is clear that women who take Avastin for metastatic breast cancer risk potentially life-threatening side effects without proof that the use of Avastin will provide a benefit, in terms of delay in tumor growth, that would justify those risks.”
Avastin is currently the top-selling cancer medication worldwide. Doctors are still permitted to prescribe the drug, but without FDA approval, insurance companies may not cover the treatment, leaving patients with bills that can climb up to $100,000 per year. Medicare, however, will still cover Avastin.
“[The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid] (CMA) will monitor the issue and evaluate coverage options as a result of action by the FDA, but has no immediate plans to change coverage policies,” CMA spokesman Don McLeod told the news outlet.
Tags:avastin, breast cancer, breast cancer drug, breast cancer medication, breast cancer research, breast cancer treatment, cancer drug, cancer medication, cancer treatment, FDA
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »
Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Here is a round-up of this weeks news surrounding breast cancer:
- A new study shows that only about 13 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer may have had their lives saved by a mammogram. Experts studying whether mammograms reduce death rates say early detection may not benefit women with slow-growing tumors. Read more…
- There is a rise in women who are choosing to have “nipple-sparing mastectomies,” which removes only the breast tissue. While some doctors express concerns over whether leaving the skin, nipple and areola would cause the cancer to come back, experts believe that this surgery is just as safe as a regular mastectomy with the right candidate. Read more...
- Researchers delve deeper into lymphedema, a side effect of breast cancer treatment that causes limbs to swell, with a new study on how the condition affects one’s quality of life. Reports say exercise and physical therapy can help reduce the symptoms of lymphedema. Read more...
- An early study of intraductal breast cancer therapy, in which the anticancer drugs are injected directly into the breast ducts through the nipple, has shown promise, resulting in no major side effects, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Read more…
Tags:breast cancer, breast cancer news
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
Here is a round-up of this week’s news surrounding breast cancer.
- More than 50 percent of women who get mammograms on a regular basis will have a false alarm within a 10-year period. A small percentage will also have a biopsy that turns out normal. Read more…
- A long-term study has revealed that postmenopausal women whose breast cancer is in the early stages have a higher survival rate and less chance or relapse if they are treated with Femara instead of tamoxifen. Femara targets cancers that are fueled by estrogen, which is why doctors do not recommend the drug for women who are still ovulating. Read more…
- Researchers have found that elevated levels of hormones like estrogens, prolactin and androgens have a significant impact on women’s risk for developing breast cancer – increasing the likelihood by up to 200 percent. Read more…
- Compared to the rate in women, less than 1 percent of men are diagnosed with breast cancer. However, the cancer is often not caught until its late stages, thus men are more likely to die from it. Read more…
Tags:breast cancer, breast cancer news
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »
Saturday, October 15th, 2011
Here is a round-up of this week’s news surrounding breast cancer.
- Herceptin, although an effective breast cancer drug, also carries with it the risk of serious heart damage in certain women. In what is being called “one of the greatest successes in the history of breast cancer research,” a study has found that when administered in conjunction with a specific chemotherapy drug, the risk of heart damage drops dramatically. Read more…
- The number of women electing to undergo a preventive double mastectomy is rising, raising concerns among medical professionals who believe the unnecessary aggressive surgery will not improve survival. In 2007, it was found that 29 percent of women opt to remove both breasts, despite only having cancer in one breast. Read more…
- China Daily reports that breast cancer is now the number one cancer among Chinese women, with more than 126,000 new diagnoses every year. Read more…
Tags:breast cancer, breast cancer news
Posted in Breast Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »
