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ATLANTA-In an attempt to find ways to improve the prognosis for breast cancer in very young women, the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) looked back at outcomes in 3,700 premenopausal and perimenopau-sal patients who had been treated in four randomized controlled trials between 1978 and 1993. Results of that analysis were presented at a poster session at the 35th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

ATLANTA-“Herceptin combined with interleukin 2 (IL-2) is an active, well-tolerated regimen that has produced a clinical response in 4 of 25 breast cancer patients,” said Gini Fleming, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine, Hematology/Oncology Section, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

SAN DIEGO-In preclinical studies, Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ Targretin (LGD1069, also known as bexarotene) plus tamoxifen (Nolvadex) produced a response rate of 94% in tamoxifen-resistant breast tumors, compared with 33% for long-term tamoxifen therapy alone, said Ligand scientist Eric Bischoff.

BALTIMORE-In a study of 1,504 premenopausal women with node-positive, receptor-positive breast cancer, the combination of tamoxifen (Nolvadex), goserelin (Zoladex), and CAF chemotherapy reduced the relative risk of breast cancer recurrence by 26%, compared with CAF alone.

Paclitaxel (Taxol) provides a nearly 40% improvement in survival with good quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to a landmark study led by James F. Bishop, MD, director of the Sydney Cancer Centre and Professor of

NEW YORK-The first clinical trials of a live genetically engineered Salmonella typhimurium bacterium are expected to get underway in the second half of this year in patients with cutaneous metastases of melanoma and breast cancer.

The long-term, worldwide trend of rising breast cancer mortality has apparently been reversed in several countries, with significant declines reported in the 1990s in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. These are the findings of a study

NEW ORLEANS-Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast is more accurate than conventional methods for identifying the extent of invasive lobular carcinoma, according to a study presented at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting.

PHILADELPHIA-“Breast cancer is the most frequent misdiagnosis leading to professional liability litigation, and the most common breast cancer malpractice lawsuit is for misdiagnosis,” Kenneth Kern, MD, said at a 47th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Furthermore, failing to detect breast cancer is among the top three law-suit-causing diagnostic errors made by internists, radiologists, general surgeons, OB-GYNs, and family practitioners, said Dr. Kern, of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Kern derived these conclusions from several databases, including the NCI’s SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-Results) Program, the Physician Insurers Association of America Data Sharing Reports, and the US Civil Litigation survey.

SILVER SPRING, Md-The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has recommended that the FDA approve Ellence (epirubicin hydrochloride for injection, Pharmacia & Upjohn) for use as a component of adjuvant therapy in patients with evidence of axillary node tumor involvement following resection of primary breast cancer (stage II and III).

I would like to comment about Dr. Vicente Valero’s response to Dr. Padmini Iyer’s question regarding adjuvant therapy for a postmenopausal woman with stage IIIA breast cancer. Although Dr. Valero’s response was quite detailed with regard to chemotherapy, no mention was made about the role of radiation therapy in patients with advanced breast cancer.

The Cord Blood Registry, in collaboration with the Cord Blood Donor Foundation, is participating in a Breast Cancer Study at Stanford University School of Medicine. The study, funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, will

NEW ORLEANS-Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is being employed increasingly in breast cancer, both in the research and clinical setting. A surgeon’s perspective on this modality was offered at the American Society of Breast Disease annual meeting by Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, medical director of the BioClinical Breast Care Program, University of Washington, Seattle

WASHINGTON-Enrollment for the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR), the largest cancer prevention trial yet undertaken, began May 25, and randomization of participants to the trial’s two arms is expected to start in July. The double-blind study of 22,000 woman at increased risk of breast cancer will compare the two drugs’ effectiveness in preventing the disease as well as their side-effects profiles.