Breast Cancer

At the 24th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, researchers reported a 78% overall response rate in a phase II trial of vinorelbine (Navelbine) plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. According to FDA-approved labeling, vinorelbine is not indicated for metastatic breast cancer.

ORLANDO-Treatments credited with improving 5-year survival rates for patients with childhood Hodgkin’s disease may lead to an increased risk of leukemia, breast cancer, and other neoplasms years later, according to a study by the Late Effects Study Group (LESG) presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting (abstract 3198).

NEW YORK-Preliminary data from a pilot study show that use of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa, Epogen, Procrit) in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy increases hemoglobin levels and improves quality of life, especially energy and activity.

Despite a tight proposed domestic budget for fiscal 2003, President Bush wants to increase spending on the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

BETHESDA, Maryland-The scientific conflict about whether mammography saves lives has been reignited by the decision by an independent advisory committee to rescind its support for such screening and to emphasize the uncertainty of the evidence supporting it.

For many people, a picture is much more instructive and memorable than text. The second edition of the Atlas of Breast Cancer is designed for such people. With 154 pages and 213 figures, it is a graphic overview of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer.

SAN ANTONIO-A retrospective study presented at the 24th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 18) has shown that breast cancer patients selected for treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin) combination therapy on the basis of HER-2 gene amplification by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) may have improved clinical benefits.

NEW YORK -The safer and better-tolerated "stealth" form of doxorubicin has a potential for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer that has not yet been realized due to overly toxic dosing schedules, Charles L. Vogel, MD, of Cancer

SAN ANTONIO-Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) therapy not only prevents breast cancer but also benign breast disease in high-risk women, according to a study by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) presented at the 24th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 7). Elizabeth Tan-Chiu, MD, of the NSABP, reported the findings.

SAN ANTONIO-The sequential use of docetaxel (Taxotere) after Adriamycin (doxorubicin)/cyclophosphamide (AC) as a neoadjuvant regimen in primary operable breast cancer essentially doubles the rate of pathologic complete responses (CRs),

SAN FRANCISCO-Time to failure, time to distant metastasis, and time to death in patients with early-stage breast cancer are not influenced by the order in which chemotherapy and radiotherapy are initiated, according to updated results of a study presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO plenary 4). These latest long-term results are in contrast to earlier findings from the study.

WILMINGTON, Delaware-The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation for AstraZeneca’s Arimidex (anastrozole) for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. The decision followed the release of data from the ATAC (Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) study at the 24th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Surgery is still the most important treatment for solid tumors, regardless of the age of the patient. In this article, we discuss the physiology of aging as it relates to risk assessment in the elderly surgical oncology patient. A brief review of the role of surgery in the treatment of breast, colorectal, pancreatic, and gastric cancer is provided, because these solid tumors primarily affect elderly patients.

The number of women receiving mammograms is higher than ever, according to the results of a study conducted by the Board of Sponsors for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The study found that more women are getting

SAN ANTONIO-In the largest breast cancer trial ever conducted, anastrozole (Arimidex) emerged the winner in a head-to-head comparison with tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in early-stage breast cancer. The impressive results, in both efficacy and tolerability, were reported at the 24th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 8).

Management of Patients at High Risk for Breast Cancer, edited by Victor G. Vogel, MD, is designed for all physicians involved in breast cancer risk assessment and prevention. It does not assume a baseline familiarity with cancer risk

CHICAGO-The overwhelming majority of women with invasive breast cancer who are node-negative, both those with positive and negative estrogen receptors, routinely receive chemotherapy today. "But it’s worthwhile to step back and ask

New data presented at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium demonstrated that anastrozole (Arimidex), as an adjuvant treatment in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, significantly reduced disease recurrence.

CHICAGO-The role of endocrine therapy in breast cancer is still evolving, with about half a dozen agents contending as players in the metastatic, adjuvant, and chemoprevention settings. At the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Conference, William

SAN FRANCISCO-For patients with metastatic breast cancer, adding weekly group therapy to standard care does not appear to improve survival, although psychological and other benefits are seen in certain patients, according to results of a

WASHINGTON-A federal panel has recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cover the use of positron emission tomography (PET) as an adjunct to standard staging tests in detecting locoregional or distant

The effect of a patient’s race or ethnicity on cancer incidence and mortality rates remains a neglected area of cancer research. However, with cancer statistics differing among various populations, research on racial and ethnic groups could provide clues to cancer trends.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-New evidence suggests that the genetic changes leading to breast cancer occur first in the epithelium of breast tissue, and then are followed by corresponding alterations in the surrounding stroma.

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland-Researchers have identified 18 genes that behave similarly to estrogen-receptor-alpha (ESR1) in patients with estrogen-receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancer. The cluster includes seven genes not previously associated with estrogen regulation or with breast cancer, Mihael H. Polymeropoulos, MD, head of pharmacogenetics, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, told ONI in an interview.

SAN FRANCISCO-A new measure to evaluate the effect of preoperative antiestrogen agents on tumor growth in early estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer suggests that fulvestrant (Faslodex, ICI 182,780, investigational) is superior to tamoxifen (Nolvadex). Fulvestrant is an estrogen-receptor downregulator and is considered a pure antiestrogen.

BETHESDA, Maryland-The Avon Products Foundation has awarded $20 million to the National Cancer Institute to help support breast cancer research and expand early-phase clinical trials of promising techniques for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy.

A comprehensive resource from the American Cancer Society (ACS) for anyone interested in the breast cancer experience, A Breast Cancer Journey takes the reader from the time of diagnosis to after treatment is completed. It serves not only as a

LISBON, Portugal-A 16-Gy boost to the tumor bed can slash the local recurrence rate by as much as 50% in younger women with breast cancer who undergo breast-conserving therapy, said Harry Bartelink, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.

A panel of top cancer specialists maintains that if a mammogram indicates a biopsy is needed, whenever possible, doctors should perform a minimally invasive breast biopsy rather than a traditional open surgical biopsy.

In a recent survey, the American Cancer Society found that many women are misinformed about breast cancer risk. According to the survey, nearly half of the respondents thought that women in the United States have a 30% to 50% chance