Breast Cancer

Interest has been growing for several years in determining the prognostic significance of micrometastases and isolated tumor cells (ITCs) in the lymph nodes of breast cancer patients.

Postmenopausal breast cancer patients who received exemestane (Aromasin) after 5 years of tamoxifen cut their risk of relapse by half

Breast cancer patients across the nation will soon have a way to match themselves with a clinical trial

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) may be an effective and well-tolerated alternative to standard radiotherapy in early-stage breast cancer, and partial breast irradiation with interstitial brachytherapy also appears feasible in women who have had a recurrence after previous breast radiotherapy

An investigational gene-based diagnostic assessment for lymph node metastases may improve intraoperative pathology and surgical decision-making, and reduce the need for second axillary node surgeries

The standard treatment for early breast cancer—AC/T— was not as effective as two regimens used in Canada in preventing recurrences. Specifically, CEF and a novel regimen, dose-dense EC/T, were both more effective than AC/T in the MA.21 study

In younger patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), boost irradiation reduced local recurrences by at least half when added to standard radiotherapy, Gunther Gruber, MD

The investigational agent lapatinib (Tykerb) when added to paclitaxel has significant clinical activity as neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)

This month, we offer an example of persistence by the patient and her family resulting in a reversal of coverage denial.

In the clinical practice setting, almost a quarter of women treated for breast cancer stop tamoxifen within 1 year, a rate twice as high as indicated by previous studies.

Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel, Abraxane) given weekly outperformed docetaxel (Taxotere) given every 3 weeks as first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

A mind-body technique known as self-hypnotic relaxation performed during certain medical procedures significantly reduces pain, anxiety, drug use, and complications.

Reversing a decades-old trend, the incidence of invasive breast cancer dropped dramatically in 2003, relative to 2002, possibly a result of postmenopausal women discontinuing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) due to breast cancer concerns

Bisphosphonates are an important part of managing bony metastasis of prostate, breast, lung, and other cancers but can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in some patients.

A random sampling of 2.3% of the imaging centers that meet Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) certification showed that the national median cash price for a screening mammogram is more than double the price that is reimbursed by Medicare.

In a randomized trial, breast cancer patients who underwent postoperative intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) had a markedly reduced incidence of moist desquamation and overall skin toxicity, compared with those receiving standard radiation therapy.

In its second annual "Clinical Cancer Advances" report, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) selected six notable developments in clinical cancer research as most important in 2006.

In a new study, elasticity imaging software was highly sensitive and specific when classifying malignant and benign breast lesions

New subgroup analyses from the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) Investigators Group confirm previous results that digital screening mammography is significantly more accurate than film screening mammography in young women with dense breasts but not in women overall.

A second interim efficacy analysis of the phase III Breast Cancer International Research Group (BCIRG) 006 study confirmed the benefits reported previously for docetaxel (Taxotere)-plus-trastuzumab (Herceptin) regimens in early HER2-positive breast cancer, and further showed a higher rate of toxicity for anthracycline-based regimens.

The majority of invasive breast cancer patients present with hormone receptor-positive disease, and modulation of estrogen receptor (ER) activation is an essential component of systemic adjuvant therapy for these women. While tamoxifen has traditionally been the primary adjuvant endocrine therapy for all ER-positive women, recent trials evaluating the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have challenged this standard in postmenopausal women, and ongoing trials are examining the optimal use of endocrine therapy in younger women. Issues regarding the optimal approach to endocrine therapy in both pre- and postmenopausal women are examined in this review.

The majority of invasive breast cancer patients present with hormone receptor-positive disease, and modulation of estrogen receptor (ER) activation is an essential component of systemic adjuvant therapy for these women. While tamoxifen has traditionally been the primary adjuvant endocrine therapy for all ER-positive women, recent trials evaluating the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have challenged this standard in postmenopausal women, and ongoing trials are examining the optimal use of endocrine therapy in younger women. Issues regarding the optimal approach to endocrine therapy in both pre- and postmenopausal women are examined in this review.

A phase III study reporting that lapatinib (Tykerb) plus capecitabine (Xeloda) is superior to capecitabine alone in women with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who had progressed following prior therapy, including trastuzumab (Herceptin)

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) have published a clinical practice guideline on improving the accuracy of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) testing for breast cancer patients.

Abraxis BioScience, Inc, presented data at the 29th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) from an interim analysis of a randomized, head-to-head phase II trial of albumin-bound paclitaxel (Abraxane) vs docetaxel (Taxotere), in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.