Breast Cancer

HOUSTON-A study comparing eight cycles of adjuvant fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC) to four cycles of paclitaxel (Taxol) followed by four cycles of FAC in women with operable breast cancer showed a nonsignificant trend toward benefit from the paclitaxel/FAC regimen.

NEW YORK-A new regimen of weekly paclitaxel (Taxol) plus the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) produced an overall response rate of 60% among metastatic breast cancer patients, regardless of HER2 status, according to a study presented at the ASCO meeting.

TOULOUSE, France-Accrual problems continue to plague clinical trials, most recently a French study attempting to compare complete hormonal blockade with luteinizing hormone–releasing hormone (LHRH) to chemotherapy in premenopausal early-stage breast cancer. Patients in the study were hormone-receptor positive and had one to three positive lymph nodes.

BETHESDA, Md-Despite bad press and negative scientific findings to date, the National Cancer Institute has not written off high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow or stem cell transplant as a treatment for breast cancer. Indeed, NCI director Richard D. Klausner, MD, has publicly appealed to oncologists to support a major ongoing but faltering NCI-sponsored breast cancer transplant trial.

PLANTATION, Florida-The humanized anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) produced an overall response rate of 26% when used as first-line therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer whose tumors overexpress HER2.

Ductal lavage, an advanced technique for collecting epithelial cells from the breast milk ducts for cytologic examination, enables the detection of premalignant and malignant cells in women who have had normal mammograms and physical exams.

ROCHESTER, Minn-Low doses of the antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor) can reduce hot flashes in breast cancer survivors by 61%, compared to a 27% reduction with placebo, Charles L. Loprinzi, MD, told a plenary session of the ASCO meeting. “This is a sizable reduction in hot flashes for women who can’t take estrogen replacement,” he added.

MEMPHIS-A dose-intense sequential schedule of doxorubicin/docetaxel (Taxotere) plus growth factor was no more effective than standard simultaneous administration in treating metastatic breast cancer.

New data from a pair of studies presented at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) suggest that capecitabine (Xeloda) doses can be adjusted without compromising efficacy in patients with advanced breast

HANNOVER, Germany-Epirubicin (Ellence)/paclitaxel (Taxol) as first-line treatment significantly slows progression of metastatic breast cancer, compared with epirubicin/cyclophosphamide. Interim results of a multicenter phase III trial comparing the two regimens were reported by Hans-Joachim Luck, MD, of the Medical University, Hannover, Germany, at the ASCO annual meeting.

WASHINGTON-When women with breast cancer sue their doctors for malpractice, it is most often because of missed or delayed diagnosis, and the most common reasons are mistakes in the evaluation and workup of breast cancer screening procedures, Vara Samudrala, MD, said at the 100th annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

A common blood protein test can predict which breast cancer patients are at risk for recurrence after mastectomy. The test may eventually help direct treatment decisions, speculate researchers from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at

NEW ORLEANS-A prospective study in colorectal cancer patients has found that sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping correctly predicts the presence or absence of nodal metastases, with a very low incidence of skip metastases (disease in a non-SLN), as it does in melanoma and breast cancer.

NEW ORLEANS-Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy can be used to identify women with primary breast cancer who have multidirectional lymphatic drainage. This appears to occur in about 10% of breast cancer patients, who can then have these areas dissected or included in radiation ports.

Weighing in unambiguously on the controversy over the National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus statement on

Long known to be instrumental in fueling the growth of breast cancer, estrogen may spur the same process in lung cancer, according to the findings of a University of Pittsburgh study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for

This is a comprehensive 701-page volume filled with excellent illustrations, photographs, tables, and schematics. The overall structure of the book takes the reader from molecular oncology issues through pathology, diagnosis, staging, treatment, and a

NEW ORLEANS-The vast majority of patients offered tamoxifen (Nolvadex) for primary chemoprevention of breast cancer decline it, even after exposure to an educational intervention program, investigators from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reported at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Cancer Symposium.

TAMPA, Fla-Anecdotal reports suggest that the selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) commonly prescribed for depression might be efficacious in alleviating hot flashes in breast cancer survivors without the risks associated with hormonal therapies. Vered Stearns, MD, of the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, discussed her research at the American Cancer Society’s 42nd Annual Science Writers Seminar.

WASHINGTON-A survey has found that breast cancer researchers largely support legislation to “minimize the risk of exploitation of medical information by commercial sources and otherwise adequately protect patient privacy.” However, they also are concerned about “unbridled privacy laws” that would “delay or discourage scientific progress through quality research.”

San Antonio-New data presented at the 22nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium indicate that hormone-receptor status may play a critical role in the effectiveness of adding tamoxifen (Nolvadex) to adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk node-negative breast cancer patients.

CHICAGO-Breast conservation followed by radiotherapy is an effective treatment approach for invasive breast cancer in medically indigent black women, but prompt initiation of the radiotherapy and adequate radiation dose are necessary to achieve optimal results, according to a study presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

SAN DIEGO-Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) did not shorten survival in women who received it after surviving breast cancer, Wendy R. Brewster, MD, reported in a plenary presentation at the 31st annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a Consensus Development Conference on Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer, to be held in Bethesda, Maryland, on November 1-3, 2000.

ORLANDO-“Adjuvant therapy for breast cancer can be improved through the use of new agents, such as taxanes,” Edith A. Perez, MD, said at the Joint Cancer Conference of the Florida Universities. Dr. Perez is associate professor of medicine, Mayo Medical School, and director of the Clinical Investigation & Breast Cancer Program, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.

Women treated with tamoxifen (Nolvadex) had a 13% higher risk of disease progression than those treated with anastrozole (Arimidex), according to the North American and the European Tamoxifen or Arimidex Randomized Group Efficacy and

DALLAS-A new blood test technique to detect breast cancer cells may be 10- to 100-fold more sensitive than any current techniques, Jonathan W. Uhr, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, said at the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s National Grant Conference.

SAN ANTONIO-A computerized palpation device might offer an objective complement to clinical breast examination for detection of suspicious lumps, according to findings reported at the 22nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Lesion size as determined by the computerized palpation device better correlated with the palpable extent of the excised lesion than did size as determined by ultrasound, mammography, or clinical breast examination.

CHICAGO-In a screening program for young women with a high susceptibility for developing breast cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) proved more effective than mammography or ultrasound in detecting cancers, German researchers reported at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

DALLAS-The antitumor powers of a venom protein from the southern copperhead snake are being studied at the University of Southern California. Results of early studies suggest that the protein, contortrostatin (CN), combines antagonism of breast cancer progression and inhibition of angiogenesis, making it a unique agent for control of breast cancer growth and proliferation.