Aluminum In Breast Tissue: A Possible Factor In The Cause Of Breast Cancer

A new study has identified a regionally-specific distribution of aluminium in breast tissue which may have implications for the cause of breast cancer. Scientists have found that the aluminium content of breast tissue and breast tissue fat was significantly higher in the outer regions of the breast, in close proximity to the area where there would be the highest density of antiperspirant. Recent research has linked breast cancer with the use of aluminium-based, underarm antiperspirants. The known, but unaccounted for, higher incidence of tumours in the upper outer quadrant of the breast seemed to support such a contention. However, the identification of a mechanism of antiperspirant-induced breast cancer has remained elusive. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Cause of Hormone-Breast Cancer Link Found

AUSTRALIAN researchers have discovered why high levels of the female sex hormone estrogen can lead to breast cancer. Scientists at the University of Queensland studied a gene called MYB, known to promote cancer growth, and its reaction to high levels of estrogen. The study confirmed MYB becomes active when exposed to high estrogen levels, results in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

6 must-see breast cancer websites

Boost your breast cancer awareness by visiting sites that deliver trusted information on symptoms, research, treatment, prevention and more. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Night Shift Work Not Linked To Increased Risk Of Cancer

Working the night shift doesn't appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, suggests the findings of a new study of Swedish workers. Recent studies – and corresponding news headlines – have found that regularly working the night shift may increase the risk of developing breast, prostate and colon cancers. Some researchers say that the connection could be due to a decrease in the production of the hormone melatonin, as some animal experiments suggest that the hormone may have anti-cancer properties. Our bodies produce their highest levels of melatonin at night, during sleep, but exposure to light at night suppresses melatonin production, said Judith Schwartzbaum, the study's lead author and an associate professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Breast cancer vaccine looks safe, study shows

A therapeutic vaccine designed for breast cancer appears to be safe in women with advanced disease and shows signs of actually slowing down tumor growth, U.S. researchers reported on Friday. Dendreon Corporation, maker of the Provenge prostate cancer vaccine, calls the new vaccine Neuvenge. It targets a type of breast cancer called her2/neu-positive breast cancer, which affects between 20 percent and 30 percent of breast cancer patients. Like Provenge, Neuvenge is made using immune cells from the cancer patient, so it is a tailor-made vaccine. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Dense Breasts, Hormone Levels Are Two Separate, Independent Risk Factors For Breast Cancer

The density of a woman’s breast tissue and her level of sex hormones are two strong and independent risk factors for breast cancer, according to a team of researchers from Harvard and Georgetown universities. The finding dispels the common belief that the risk associated with dense breasts merely reflects the same risk associated with high levels of circulating sex hormones, they say. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Breastfeeding Decreases Possibilities of Having Breast Cancer

Breastfeeding is not only necessary for newborns to be nurtured, it also plays a role in reducing the chances of getting breast cancer. According to the Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research in New York, breastfeeding reduces the risk of having breast cancer 10 percent to 64 percent compared to women who don’t breastfeed. Statistics may vary depending on the pattern of breastfeeding, how often the baby is fed and the reasons for stopping it afterward. “There is no clear scientific explanation for that, although the information is correct according to studies. Breastfeeding decreases the possibility of having the disease,” said Dr. Mahmoud Al-Ahwal, consultant and associate professor of internal medicine and medical oncology at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital and a member of Al-Eman Cancer Society’s executive committee. “While breastfeeding, breast cells are doing the natural job that God created them for,” he said. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Dendreon breast cancer drug Neuvenge effective in trial

Dendreon Corp., the developer of a treatment to stimulate the immune system against prostate cancer, said a small study suggests the same technique may help women with breast cancer.
A clinical trial of Neuvenge showed that four of 18 patients taking the treatment, or 22 percent, had their tumors shrink or stabilize, according to results published in the Aug. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The Seattle-based company, which has no marketed products, lost almost $1 billion of its market value May 9, when its leading drug candidate, Provenge, was delayed by a request from U.S. regulators for more proof that it works. Dendreon presented early results for Neuvenge, its only other drug in human testing, at a scientific meeting in March 2004. The company hasn't invested since in any large clinical trials needed for approval. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

New breast-cancer drug Exemestane

Government drug-buying agency Pharmac has approved funding for a new drug for breast-cancer sufferers. Pharmac medical director Dr Peter Moodie said exemestane would be fully funded under a deal with pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Exemestane, an aromatase inhibitor drug, can help to block the growth of hormone-dependent tumours by lowering the amount of oestrogen hormone in the body. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

MRI Detects Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) Better than Mammography

According to an article recently published in The Lancet, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) more accurately detects ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast than mammography.
Cure rates for breast cancer have been improving; this progress has been attributed to screening practices and new treatment options. The earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis. On the other hand, cure rates are low for cancer that has spread to distant sites in the body. Therefore, screening to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages will lead to the best chances of a cure. Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast refers to a small cancer found in one of the ducts of the breast. There has been debate over whether DCIS is a true cancer or a pre-cancerous tumor that has the potential to spread. Overall, researchers have agreed that treatment for DCIS significantly reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer. There is still debate, however, about the best screening measure for DCIS. Researchers from Germany recently conducted a clinical trial to compare mammography and MRI for the detection of DCIS. This trial included 167 women with DICS who underwent both mammography and MRI prior to surgery. 92% of DCIS was detected by MRI compared with only 56% detected with mammography. Of all the high-grade (more aggressive) DCIS, nearly half were missed by mammography but MRI detected 98% --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Newly created cancer stem cells could aid breast cancer research

In some ways, certain tumors resemble bee colonies, says pathologist Tan Ince. Each cancer cell in the tumor plays a specific role, and just a fraction of the cells serve as "queens," possessing the unique ability to maintain themselves in an unspecialized state and seed new tumors. These cells can also divide and produce the "worker" cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Pathologist Tan Ince transformed normal cells into these cancerous ones (whose membranes are stained green). The transformed cells retain their sheet-forming capabilities, resembling the tumor cells found in many patients. They also possess enormous potential to create and spread tumors. As many as one in ten is a cancer stem cell. These "queens" are cancer stem cells. Now the lab of Whitehead Member Robert Weinberg has created such cells in a Petri dish by isolating and transforming a particular population of cells from human breast tissue. After being injected with just 100 of these transformed cells, mice developed tumors that metastasized (spread to distant tissues). "The operational definition of a cancer stem cell is the ability to initiate a tumor, so these are cancer stem cells," declares Weinberg, who is also an MIT professor of biology.
Ince didn't set out to engineer these potent cells. As a post-doctoral researcher in the Weinberg lab and gynecologic pathologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, he was simply trying to create breast cancer models that look like real human tumors under the microscope and behave like those seen in many patients. In more than 90 percent of human breast tumors, cancer cells resemble those lining our body's cavities. A trained pathologist can spot the similarities under a microscope. But the cancer cells previously engineered from normal breast cells for laboratory studies looked different. Ince suspected that researchers were transforming the wrong type of cells. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--