Breast Cancer

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).

A new decision-making model developed by Dr.Giovanni Parmigiani and colleagues at Duke University has shown that the routine use of axillary lymph node dissection may not be necessary for many breast cancer patients. Recently, the use of

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.

Symptoms related to estrogen deficiency are among the most common complaints that postmenopausal breast cancer patients bring to the attention of oncologists. Menopause develops in these patients either naturally or prematurely as a result of cancer chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy.

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

WASHINGTON-A US federal court has granted a preliminary injunction barring Eli Lilly and Company and its sales representatives from promoting its drug Evista (raloxifene ) as effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

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.

ATLANTA-In a meta-analysis of four trials of premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer, the combination of an LHRH-agonist (LHRH-A) and tamoxifen (Nolvadex) was clearly more effective than an LHRH-A alone, according to a presentation at the 35th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

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.

Research conducted at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, suggests that the most serious and costly side effects of high-dose chemotherapy for breast cancer, including long-term hospitalization and severe inflammation of the

Despite a recent decline in incidence and mortality, breast cancer currently develops in one of eight North American women who live to 85 years of age, and remains the major cause of death in American women between the ages of 15 and 54.[1,2]

ATLANTA-Compared with other accepted medical interventions, breast cancer prevention with tamoxifen (Nolvadex) therapy is cost-effective, according to a poster presented at the ASCO annual meeting

Regular mammography screening combined with timely and appropriate treatment can reduce mortality from breast cancer by 30% in women ages 50 to 69 years and by 16% in women ages 40 to 49 years. A physician’s recommendation has

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

Marks, Hardenbergh, and Prosnitz provide an excellentoverview of the role of postmastectomy radiation therapy for node-positive breast cancer patients. Their review not only summarizes the most recent literature supporting the clearly established

Although a substantial number of women will suffer and die from breast cancer during the upcoming years, we clearly have made stepwise progress in treating patients with this cancer over the last 3 decades. Each of these steps of progress has led to

Postmastectomy locoregional radiation therapy markedly reduces the risk of locoregional recurrence. Several randomized trials, including two recently updated studies with 10- to 15-year follow-up, demonstrate an

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.

DALLAS-The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is encouraging women and their physicians to “REMEMBER” a new breast health awareness campaign. The Foundation’s health education initiative adds Risk Evaluation to the traditional three-part program of Mammography Exam, Monthly Breast Exam, and Regular checkups, resulting in the acronym REMEMBER.

NEW YORK-Daughters of women with breast cancer face a broad range of medical, practical, and emotional issues, from their roles as advocates and caregivers to their own risk of developing the disease. A teleconference organized by Cancer Care, Inc., addressed these issues for an audience of more than 400 in the United States and Canada.

Some factors that lead to the development of breast cancer are similar to those responsible for the development of ovarian cancer, say the authors of a new study. Consequently, women who survive breast cancer, especially those under the age of

SAN FRANCISCO-Women who have survived breast cancer are at increased risk for subsequent ovarian cancer, and this risk is especially high in women diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50 and in African-American, Asian, and Hispanic women, according to data presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

NEW ORLEANS-When talking with women about their personal risk of developing breast cancer, “terms such as relative risk are not very useful,” Patricia Kelly, PhD, said at the American Society of Breast Disease annual meeting, co-sponsored by the Ochsner Medical Foundation, New Orleans.