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Breast Cancer

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SAN FRANCISCO-The aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Femara) may be clinically superior to tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in breast cancer because, unlike tamoxifen, it has no agonist properties, results of a phase III preoperative endocrine therapy trial suggest.

SAN FRANCISCO-High-dose adjuvant chemotherapy with stem cell support provided no overall or disease-free survival benefit over standard chemotherapy in a randomized, multicenter Italian trial including 398 metastatic breast cancer patients.

SAN FRANCISCO-Administering a single dose of pegylated filgrastim (pegfilgrastim) each chemotherapy cycle is as effective as daily doses of filgrastim (Neupogen) in reducing neutropenia among breast cancer patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy, according to two studies presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

BALTIMORE-Women undergoing breast cancer treatment at the Johns Hopkins Breast Center receive extensive emotional support from breast cancer survivor volunteers, thanks to an ongoing program there. Lillie Shockney, RN, MAS, director of education and outreach, described the development and implementation of the program at a poster session at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Congress.

SAN FRANCISCO-High-dose chemotherapy plus stem cell rescue did not improve overall survival vs standard chemotherapy alone in women with chemotherapy-sensitive metastatic breast cancer, according to the results of a National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) trial reported at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands-In the first prospective study of its kind, prophylactic mastectomy prevented the development of breast cancer in women at high risk for breast cancer because of BRCA1/2 mutations, compared with controls who did not opt for surgery.

BALTIMORE-What is safe, efficacious, and cost-effective, not swallowed or taken intravenously, and improves a breast cancer patient’s quality of life? Exercise, according to a group of researchers who conducted a multi-institutional, prospective, randomized controlled trial examining the effects of a supervised walking regimen on breast cancer patients.

SAN FRANCISCO-Results are now emerging regarding the use of docetaxel (Taxotere) in the adjuvant breast cancer setting. A large study presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) evaluated the adjuvant use of docetaxel plus cyclophosphamide (TC 75/600 mg/m²) and found it to be better tolerated than standard doxorubicin (Adriamycin) plus cyclophosphamide (AC 60/600 mg/m²).

SAN FRANCISCO-Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9082 has failed in its second analysis to show a survival benefit for intensive therapy and transplant in primary breast cancer patients with multiple positive axillary lymph nodes. Nevertheless, outcomes in the 785-patient study, which compared high-dose and intermediate-dose consolidation chemotherapy with alkylating agents, are superior to outcomes achieved in studies of standard-dose therapy alone, William P. Peters, MD, PhD, said on behalf of investigators in the study, which was started more than 10 years ago. Dr. Peters, director of the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, spoke at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

SEATTLE-Double reading mammograms increases breast cancer detection rates but not without substantial costs, according to a study done at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vermont, and presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

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.