Breast Cancer

Dr. Smith's excellent article summarizes the preclinical and clinical data obtained to date on the role of vinorelbine (Navelbine) in women with breast cancer. Introducing a new agent into the arena of breast cancer is fraught with logistic

Vinorelbine tartrate (Navelbine) is a new semisynthetic vinca alkaloid with efficacy against a variety of solid tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

This is a timely, comprehensive overview of the current status of vinorelbine (Navelbine) in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. For most patients with advanced breast cancer, there is no clear evidence that chemotherapy prolongs survival, although it can achieve clear improvements in quality of life [1].

ATLANTA--The American Cancer Society's research program has awarded a $75,000 planning grant to the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC), based in Geneva, Switzerland, to study the feasibility of conducting a long-term international study on the effects of mammography in reducing breast cancer mortality in women in their 40s.

Payment for bone marrow transplant (BMT) therapy for breast cancer from a managed care perspective will be influenced by clinical arguments put forth by research and clinical communities, outcomes measures over time, and the subscription

ASCO LOS ANGELES--Two multi-institutional phase II studies of recombinant human anti-HER2/NEU antibody (rhuMAb HER2) in heavily pretreated stage IV breast cancer patients show some impressive responses, including some hepatic responses and a 25% response rate in patients given the antibody plus cisplatin (Platinol).

WILMINGTON, Del--Zeneca Pharmaceuticals has filed a new drug application (NDA) for the use of Arimidex (anastrozole) tablets for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have progressed following therapy with tamoxifen (Nolvadex).

PARIS, France--University of Chicago researchers have discovered that the combination of a molecular marker of tumor virulence and a marker of metastatic potential can be used to reliably predict outcome in women with node-negative breast cancer, Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD, reported at the annual meeting of the American Radium Society.

WASHINGTON--The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has announced its intention to lobby against congressional forces that want to reduce NIH funding. The coalition thus allies itself with professional societies that lobby Congress to increase federal funding for biomedical research.

A dose-intensive outpatient regimen of doxorubicin and CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil) with growth factor support proved to be effective and well tolerated in women with advanced breast cancer, Mark L. Graham,

PARIS, France--Radiation therapy is a reasonable alternative to mastectomy in women with stage IIIA and IIIB breast cancer who respond to aggressive chemohormonal therapy, a prospective trial conducted at the University of Michigan has found.

LONG BEACH, Calif--A breast cancer patient who is a good candidate for breast conservation says to her physician, "I want a mastectomy. I don't want to have radiation."

Like a colorblind coach who can see all the players but cannot tell who is friendly, x-ray mammography is effective in finding suspicious breast lesions but is not reliable in determining which ones are cancerous. Because of this uncertainty, about

NEW YORK--What should have been good news for a woman whose family had a history of breast cancer--that she did not carry the breast cancer gene (BRCA1)--proved bittersweet, since the woman had had bilateral prophylactic mastectomies 5 years earlier.

LOS ANGELES--An aggressive 16-week, multidrug chemotherapy regimen afforded a survival advantage over six cycles of CAF (cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, and fluorouracil) in 646 women with receptor-negative, node-positive breast cancer, preliminary results of an Intergroup study have shown.

Race does not appear to be a major factor in breast cancer survival when information on stage of disease, income level, education, and access to care also are reviewed, a number of studies show.

NEW YORK--About 300 breast cancer survivors and hundreds of family, friends, physicians, and supporters gathered at the Plaza Hotel for a luncheon to celebrate breast cancer survival.

SAN FRANCISCO--Approximately 6% of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer have had a previous diagnosis of breast cancer, Jeffrey G. Schneider, MD, said at the annual conference of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

The combination of vinorelbine tartrate (Navelbine) and paclitaxel (Taxol) appears promising for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer, including some patients who had previously receivedanthracycline-based adjuvant therapy,

LOS ANGELES--Sequential chemotherapy including an anthracycline produced better overall and relapse-free survival in women with node-positive breast cancer (more than three nodes) than did an alternating schedule of the same drugs, Gianni Bonadonna, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, reported at the ASCO annual meeting.

BOSTON--Radical mastectomy is no longer routine for women with breast cancer, but the indications for breast conservation are still being debated by surgeons who fear the risk of breast cancer recurrence. At the 48th Annual Cancer Symposium, sponsored by the Society of Surgical Oncologists, a panel of physicians discussed patient selection criteria for breast conservation surgery.

SAN ANTONIO--Final excisional margin status proved to be the strongest predictor of local recurrence in a study of more than 300 breast cancer patients treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation, Melanie C. Smitt, MD, said at the opening general session of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

TORONTO, Canada--Researchers have discovered that a high-fiber grain cultivated since the times of the ancient Egyptians may delay the growth of cancerous tumors. In studies conducted on rats, Lilian Thompson, PhD, of the University of Toronto, found that a component isolated from flaxseed reduced mammary tumor growth by more than 50%.

SAN ANTONIO--Three different regimens of vinorelbine tartrate (Navelbine) combined with established chemotherapeutic agents led to significant responses in up to 60% of patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer, including previously treated patients.

PITTSBURGH--A study has begun to determine the effectiveness of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in preventing osteoporosis in a group of women participating in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT), coordinated by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP).

CHICAGO--Citing findings from radiological studies performed on more than 10,000 women, Paula Gordon, MD, suggests periodic ultrasound examination of the breast in addition to mammography for women at high risk of breast cancer and who have mammographically dense breasts.

PARIS, France--New ideas and applications for endocrine therapy in early breast cancer may provide a revolution in our thinking about the nature of the disease, said Dr. M. Baum, of The Royal Marsden Hospital, London. The efficacy of

If a woman smoked, contracted breast cancer, and was treated with radiation before 1980, her risk of lung cancer has been dramatically increased. Even if she did not smoke, her chances for lung

SAN ANTONIO--Primary chemotherapy successfully converted 29 of 47 mastectomy candidates to breast conservation in a French study reported at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

SAN FRANCISCO--Women with breast cancer are at higher risk of developing a second gynecologic cancer than women who do not have the disease, Eva Chalas, MD, reported at a poster session of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists meeting. Close gynecologic monitoring in the first 3 years after a breast cancer diagnosis is essential, she said.