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SAN FRANCISCO-Preliminary results of an ongoing phase III study suggest that weekly paclitaxel (Taxol) followed by FAC (fluorouracil/Adriamycin/cyclophosphamide) provides improved pathologic complete response rates, compared with standard paclitaxel followed by FAC, M.D. Anderson researchers reported at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in San Francisco.

DALLAS-Responding to a growing body of research that suggests cognitive dysfunction and asthenia are prevalent side effects of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, of US Oncology is investigating recombinant human erythropoietin as a neuroprotective agent.

NEW YORK-"I’m going to die," Jerri Nielsen, MD, recalled thinking when she discovered a lump in her right breast while she was the physician at the Admundsen-Scott South Pole Station. "I’m going to die here, or I’m going to die after I get off the ice."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla-Eighty percent of breast cancer survivors were found to have osteoporosis or osteopenia at the outset of a University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing pilot study into preventing osteoporosis among survivors.

SAN FRANCISCO-The addition of docetaxel (Taxotere) to an anthracycline (doxorubicin)-containing regimen may improve response rates in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The findings come from a large international trial, TAX 307, presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in San Francisco.

WASHINGTON-Cutting-edge molecular research supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) promises revolutionary changes in the way physicians screen, diagnose, and treat breast cancer, NCI director Richard D. Klausner, MD, told the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees the NCI.

SAN FRANCISCO-Elderly women who survived breast cancer received more preventive health care overall than a matched control group of cancer-free women. This finding was based on a review of financial records by researchers at the Center for Outcomes and Policy Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

SAN FRANCISCO-The impact of achieving amenorrhea during treatment for premenopausal breast cancer is controversial, according to data from the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) Clinical Trials Group (CTG). A common occurrence among premenopausal breast cancer patients, treatment-induced amenorrhea is often considered a positive prognostic factor. The NCIC CTG data was unable to demonstrate such an effect.

SAN FRANCISCO-Anemic breast cancer patients receiving chemoradiotherapy who are also treated with weekly recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa [Procrit, Eprex, Erypo]) have not only better hemoglobin levels but also improved energy, activity levels, and overall quality of life.

SEATTLE-When used as an adjunct to mammography and clinical breast examinations, thermal imaging may help reduce the number of unnecessary breast biopsies, according to Karleen Callahan, PhD, director of Clinical Research for Breast Cancer at Computerized Thermal Imaging, Inc (CTI).

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla-Walking 60 minutes or more a week could have a positive effect on fatigue and sleep disturbance in breast cancer patients, according to preliminary results presented by Barbara Poniatowski, MS, RNC, AOCN, at the Oncology Nursing Society’s Sixth National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia-Documentation of widespread fraud in a 1985 study supporting high-dose chemotherapy/transplant for metastatic breast cancer patients has led the Journal of Clinical Oncology to retract the influential report and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to recommend that breast cancer patients not receive high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplants outside of clinical trials.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla-Breast cancer survivors experienced significantly worse hot flashes, compared with age-matched healthy women, in a Vanderbilt University study. The Research also raised doubts about the accuracy of hot flash reports in patient diaries.