MR Spectroscopy Helps Identify Cancerous Breast Tumors

07/26/2005 - Radiological Society of North America

Measuring the biochemical changes in breast tumors with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy enables radiologists to more accurately distinguish benign tumors from cancerous ones.

Undertreatment of Breast Cancer in Elderly Women: Contribution of a Cancer Registry

Alliot, Carol. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 23, No 21 (July 20), 2005: pp. 4800-4801
Advocates the need for a Cancer Registry in order to help facilitate research so that patienhts are not undertreated out of ignorance.

Silicone breast implants may be contaminated

Reuters Health, July 15, 2005
Five cases of fungal contamination of saline-filled breast implants were likely caused by poor infection control measures during the implant procedures and in the operating room, according to a report. According to investigators, black sediment was seen in the implants of five women who had undergone a second surgery to correct various problems they were having with their breast implants.

Drug Combo Ups Breast Cancer Survival

Reuter's Health Information, July 15, 2005
The combination of the anti-cancer drugs Herceptin and Taxotere appears to work better than Taxotere alone in women with advanced breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast, research shows. Moreover, there is little added toxicity when Herceptin is given.

Multiple births and breast cancer prognosis: a population based study

Thalib L, et al. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2005;20(7):613-7
Studying 30,619 women between 1958 and 1998, this study analyzes the effect of multiple birth compared to single births on breast cancer survival. It finds that the single and multiple births were associated with increased fatality if breast cancer was diagnosed within 5 years after childbirth. After 5 years, this effect drops to near zero and has a protective effect on survival.