Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Currently Accepting Applications for Disaster-Relief Grants; More Than $1 Million Already Granted

PRNewswire, February 27, 2006
Following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita andWilma the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation designated up to$2 million to support efforts to rebuild non-profit institutions and providersof breast health and breast cancer care in affected areas, and to helporganizations maintain the continuum of patient services in communitiesresponding to the needs of displaced populations. To date, the Foundation hasapproved more than $700,000 in patient services grants and more than $500,000in rebuilding grants, and continues to encourage organizations meetingcriteria to submit grant applications. Information and applications for KomenFoundation Disaster-Relief Grants can be found at http://www.komen.org/disaster --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Breast Cancer Survivors Have Options for Follow-Up Care

CancerConsultants.com, February 27, 2006
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, important breast cancer outcomes were similar whether follow-up care was provided by a cancer specialist or by a family physician. Thanks to improvements in early detection and treatment, many women with breast cancer can expect to be long-term survivors. For breast cancer survivors, follow-up care generally includes regularly scheduled exams and mammograms. Though this follow-up care is often provided by cancer specialists, some women may enjoy having the option of returning to their family physician for this care. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

New study shows that breast cancer risk tied to HRT is race-independent

Reuters Health, February 27, 2006
Postmenopausal hormone therapy with estrogen or estrogen-progestin is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk across ethnic groups, new research indicates. Previous studies have indicated that menopausal estrogen-progestin therapy increases the risk of breast cancer, but it is unclear whether this association varies by specific prognostic factors and ethnicity. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Sheryl Crow Fighting Secret Breast Cancer Battle

Warner Brothers' Extra, February 27, 2006
Just days before undergoing top-secret surgery for breast cancer, "Extra" spotted a smiling and carefree Sheryl Crow in Santa Monica. But in reality, her life has been anything but carefree; she's been battling a secret fight with breast cancer. The announcement is the latest life blow to Sheryl, who announced just three weeks ago that her wedding to Tour De France champ Lance Armstrong was off. This news is a bizarre and shocking twist of fate, considering Lance is a cancer survivor himself. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Large increase in breast cancer cases in the East Arabian country of Qatar

Gulf Times, February 28, 2006
There is a large rise in the number of breast cancer patients in Qatar, and the disease is seen more in women between 35 to 45 years as against the usual pattern of affecting those above 50, Qatar National Cancer Society (QNCS) chairman Dr Khalid bin Jabor al-Thani said yesterday. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Patients Diagnosed with Blood Clots at Increased Risk for Breast and Colon Cancers

CancerConsultants.com, February 23, 2006
According to a recent article published in the journal Cancer, individuals who are hospitalized for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) are thought to have a significantly increased risk of developing colon cancer or breast cancer within the following two years. Breast cancer and colon cancer are two of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the U.S. Researchers continue to evaluate which individuals might be at a higher risk of developing these cancers; these high-risk individuals may benefit from a more intensive screening program to detect and treat the cancers in their earliest stages. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Western diet helps raise South Korea breast cancer rate

Jon Herskovitz, Reuters UK, February 21, 2006
Breast cancer among South Korean women is increasing at a rapid rate due in part to a more Western lifestyle and consumption of more fatty foods, according to a paper made available on Tuesday. In the paper published in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery, a Journal of the American Medical Association publication, South Korean scientists found that South Korean women have increased risk factors for breast cancer in recent years. "We believe that the younger generations of Korean women have been directly affected by the progressive Westernisation of the Korean lifestyle," the authors wrote. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Hereditary Breast Cancer Linked to new Cancers

Ivanhoe, February 13, 2006
The risk for a new cancer in the unaffected breast substantially increases in women diagnosed with unilateral, hereditary breast cancer, according to a recent study. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Non-BRCA hereditary breast cancer linked to new cancers

EaurekaAlter, February 13, 2006
The risk for a new cancer in the unaffected breast substantially increases in women diagnosed with unilateral, hereditary (non-BRCA) breast cancer, according to a new study published in the March 15, 2006 issue of CANCER. The study reveals women under 50 diagnosed with hereditary (non-BRCA) breast cancer are at significantly greater risk for developing cancer in the other breast, also known as contralateral breast cancer (CBC). Adjuvant hormonal therapy, however, reduces CBC risk. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Institutions disagree over breast cancer tests

Pharmaceutical Business Review, February 13, 2006
The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a report stating that four common noninvasive tests for breast cancer are not accurate enough to routinely replace biopsies for women who receive abnormal findings from a mammogram or physical examination. However, the American College of Radiology has hit back, calling the report confused and inaccurate. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Tesmilifene for advanced breast cancer wins fast review by US Regulators

Reuter's, February 13, 2006
YM BioSciences Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company, said U.S. regulators agreed to a "fast track" review of its lead drug, tesmilifene, for the treatment of breast cancer. The drug is used in combination with an anthracycline chemotherapeutic for the treatment of women with advanced breast cancer. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Aggressive subtype of breast cancer displays 'misbehavior' of X chromosomes

EurekaAlert, February 13, 2006
Basal-like breast cancers (BLC) are highly aggressive tumors with a relatively poor prognosis that account for approximately 15% of sporadic human breast cancer. Sporadic BLC share certain characteristics with most of the breast cancers from patients carrying a germline mutation in the BRCA1 breast cancer suppressor gene. Among their similarities, sporadic BLC and BRCA1 cancers do not express the estrogen receptor and do not overproduce HER2 protein. Thus, therapeutics targeting estrogen receptor or targeting HER2 currently used in treating some other types of breast cancers are unlikely to be useful for treating these breast cancers. However, sporadic BLC contain normal BRCA1 genes. A new study published in the February issue of Cancer Cell provides evidence that X chromosome abnormalities contribute to the pathogenesis of both the sporadic BRCA1 normal BLC and the inherited BRCA1 mutant breast cancer. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Breast cancer risk is one among 19 women

Daily Express, February 20, 2006
One in 19 Malaysian women get breast cancer. For Chinese women, the risk is 1:14, for Indians it is 1:15, and for Malays it is 1:24. In the US it is 1 in 8 or 1 in 7, depending on who you listen to. I wonder why? Is it the Eastern/Asian diet or something else? --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Clalit Health Services will pay for Oncotype DX

Jerusalem Post, February 15, 2006
Clalit Health Services will pay $4,000 to test every woman member with breast cancer who is suited to the Oncotype DX genetic test to determine whether their genetic profile gives them the potential to benefit from special chemotherapy. The largest health fund said that it expects between 250 and 300 Clalit members who meet its criteria will require and want such testing, in which a tissue sample removed in surgery is sent abroad. The test has not been included in the Health Ministry's basket of health services, although it was previously a candidate and rejected. Clalit director-general Zev Vurmbrand called the voluntary decision "a breakthrough and good news for women with breast cancer." "We prefer to spend our resources on other proven lifesaving technologies for breast cancer such as Herceptin," a spokesman said. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Physical Activity Reduces Breast Cancer Risk

CancerConsultants.com, February 15, 2006
According to a study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, women who engaged in five or more hours of vigorous physical activity per week had a 38% lower risk of breast cancer than women who reported no regular physical activity. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

MRI Being Used to Detect Breast Cancer

WFIE Online, February 15, 2006
Magnetic resonance imaging or an MRI is usually used to locate unseen problems dealing with the head, neck, spine and extremities. Now, add the detection of breast cancer to that list. New computer software is making it possible. MRI's could have been used to scan breast tissue in the past, but it simply wasn't practical. The test produced hundreds upon hundreds of images that radiologists just didn't have the time to interpret. But now, something called CAD, or computer-aided detection, is serving as a second, more efficient set of eyes. When it comes to detecting breast cancer, mammography has long been the gold standard, along with physical examination and ultrasound technology. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

New Fat-Cancer Study Underscores an Important Evolution (Not a Revolution) in Scientific Thinking

Kansas City InfoZine, February 10, 2006
This article provides comment and insight regarding the recently published study from the Women's Health Initiative which suggests that fat and cancer are unrelated. From the present article: "During the years the WHI has been gathering its data, the story on fat and cancer has become clearer and more precise. Results from laboratory, population studies and clinical trials have increasingly revealed that different kinds of fat influence health in general and cancer in particular in radically different ways. This study merely confirms what we've known for some time: 'total fat' is not the issue. Different kinds of fat affect tumor progression and other aspects of the cancer process in different ways that demand further research. While we continue to investigate these connections, people should continue to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, increase their physical activity and watch their weight. The WHI study was simply not designed to track the divergent influences of different kinds of fat (saturated and trans-fats vs. fats from vegetable oil, nuts and fish.) Nor was it designed to study other factors only now attracting considerable scientific attention, such as how time of life influences the interaction of diet and cancer risk, the influences of weight and exercise, the role of genetic variation among individuals, and the specific effect of whole grains.The study also reinforces another fact that has emerged over the past decade: it is overall calorie intake, not fat alone, that plays a central role in risk for obesity and diseases related to it, such as cancer." --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Cancer study finds benefits in key turmeric component

Arizona Central, February 7, 2006
People whose diets are rich in turmeric have lower rates of breast cancer as well as prostate, lung and colon cancers. Recent research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston suggests that curcumin, an active component in turmeric, may help prevent the spread of breast cancer. In studies of mice, researchers found that curcumin helped stop the metastasis of breast cancer cells to the lung. Human studies following up on this finding are now in progress. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Doctors treating growing number of breast cancer survivors who have brain tumors

Arizona Central, February 7, 2006
Doctors across the United States say they are treating a growing number of breast cancer survivors who have brain tumors, where drugs have halted the spread of cancer in their bodies, but not in their brains. ''We're seeing something we have not seen before; women whose cancer from the neck down appears to be gone on the scans," said Dr. Nancy Lin, also at Dana-Farber. ''Yet they have cancer in their brain." In the past, many of these women would have developed brain tumors very close to the end of their lives, while they were dying of cancer elsewhere in their bodies. Now, a new generation of drugs is controlling the cancer in women's bodies far better. Many are not effective in the brain, however, so many women feel vital and healthy when brain cancer comes out of the blue. Doctors say the phenomenon is particularly striking with women who have the aggressive type of breast cancer like Soscia's and who take Herceptin. Studies show Herceptin extends the lives of women with advanced breast cancer that has spread by 6 to 12 months on average. But Herceptin is a large molecule that does not easily cross the blood-brain barrier, a network of blood vessels that are so tightly constructed that certain substances cannot pass from the bloodstream into the brain. Winer and several other doctors said they do not believe Herceptin is causing the cancer to spread to the brain, just that it's not working there. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Vaginal Oestrogen May Stop New Breast Cancer Drugs Working, Say UK Specialists

Medical News Today, January 28, 2006
Breast cancer specialists from one of the UK's leading cancer centres cautioned doctors of the risks in prescribing vaginal oestrogen to breast cancer patients being treated with the new aromatase inhibiting drugs, anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane. Their concerns follow findings from the first study to examine the impact of vaginal oestrogen in women receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) for breast cancer, published on-line today in Annals of Oncology, by a team from the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Low-Fat Diet Does Not Cut Health Risks, Study Finds

Spartanburg Herald-Journal (via New York Times) February 8, 2006
The largest study ever to ask whether a low-fat diet reduces the risk of getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet has no effect. The $415 million federal study involved nearly 49,000 women ages 50 to 79 who were followed for eight years. In the end, those assigned to a low-fat diet had the same rates of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart attacks and strokes as those who ate whatever they pleased, researchers are reporting today... The study, published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, was not just an ordinary study, said Dr. Michael Thun, who directs epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society. It was so large and so expensive, Dr. Thun said, that it was "the Rolls-Royce of studies." As such, he added, it is likely to be the final word. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

STUDY: Half Breast Cancers Tied to Environment

Oakland Tribune, January 28, 2006
As many as half of all new breast cancers may be foisted upon woman by pollutants in the environment, triggered by such items as bisphenol-A lining tin cans or radiation from early mammograms, according to a review of recent science by two breast cancer groups. Their report, "State of the Evidence," released Tuesday, buttresses what many researchers increasingly suspect: that repeated low doses — particularly in early childhood — to chemicals normally considered harmless can have a profound effect. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) For Early Breast Cancer Detection

SITNEWS, February 1, 2006
Studies show that the Use of CAD could result in earlier detection of up to 23.4 percent of the cancers currently detected using mammography. This year, approximately 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and studies show that up to 23.4 percent of breast cancer could be detected earlier. Recently Ketchikan General Hospital (KGH) acquired a Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system for use in breast cancer screening to assist radiologists by providing "a second set of eyes" during mammograms. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--