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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

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.

WASHINGTON--The National Institutes of Health, University of Utah, and Myriad Genetics, Inc. have resolved issues involving patenting of the BRCA1 breast cancer gene by agreeing that scientists from all three institutions should be named as joint inventors in current patent applications. The agreement also ensures that exclusive, worldwide commercial rights are retained by Myriad and its licensees, Eli Lilly and Company and Hybritech Incorporated.

SAN ANTONIO--Use of docetaxel (Taxotere) as palliative treatment of advanced breast cancer produced durable responses in almost 70% of patients, including three fourths of those with liver metastases, French researchers said at a

NEW YORK--The woman shyly lifted her sweater, and in halting English apologized for her old brassiere. The left cup was stuffed with a towel where her breast used to be. She had come to Cancer Care, Inc. in Manhattan for help.

ATLANTA--In laboratory models, the "highest possible doses of chemotherapy" and a combination of agents are necessary to achieve curative therapy in breast cancer, Karen H. Antman, MD, said at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) Educational Conference. But when treating breast cancer with drugs that damage stem cells, "you may not be able

NEW YORK--Gospel singers, ministers, elected officials, breast cancer survivors, and the president and board of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center came to Harlem to celebrate, with music and soul food, the expansion of the Breast Examination Center of Harlem, a center that has screened more than 24,000 women for breast cancer since its opening in 1979.

SAN ANTONIO--Unresolved questions about accuracy and cost should limit the role of stereotactic core biopsy in breast cancer to low-suspicion lesions and a few other specific indications, advised Monica Morrow, MD, associate professor of surgery and director of clinical breast programs, Northwestern University Medical School.

WASHINGTON--At its most recent meeting, the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) heard a report on the activities and accomplishments of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer (NAPBC), as well as reports from two groups concerned about cancer research funding and grant applications.

New clinical research shows that a noninvasive test, the Breast Biophysical Examination (BBE), may help physicians more effectively detect breast cancer, as well as identify women who do not have cancer. The research, funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, was presented at the 17th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) is widely used in the treatment of breast cancer. It is effective in the management of both early stage and advanced disease. The recent comprehensive meta-analysis of systemic treatment in early breast cancer reported that tamoxifen reduced the annual odds of breast cancer recurrence by 25%, and the risk of death by 16%, compared with patients not treated with tamoxifen [1]. The benefits are even more pronounced in postmenopausal patients, with 29% decreases in recurrence and 20% reduction in the risk of death. The risk of contralateral primary breast cancer is also decreased by approximately 28% in women receiving adjuvant tamoxifen [2]. This has prompted its use in prevention trials; the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Prevention trial (NSABP P1) is an ongoing trial randomizing women at high risk for breast cancer to receive tamoxifen or placebo. Tamoxifen's use in otherwise healthy women has brought attention to the few potential toxicities of the drug.

LISBON, Portugal--Studies from the Breast Cancer Cooperative Group and the Clinical Screening Group of the Euro-pean Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) have spotlighted docetaxel (Taxotere) as a promising second- and first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. What's more, the EORTC findings indicate that steroid premedication can delay the fluid retention that frequently limits therapy with this taxoid.

In the 1970s, a radical mastectomy represented the sole option for women with breast cancer. Years later, when the issue of quality of life was raised, the era of reconstructive surgery, via silicone gel breast implants--internal prostheses, was born. For

NASHVILLE--Results of a trial of positive-selection purging in breast cancer patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy/autologous bone marrow or peripheral blood transplantation show that patients who have no evidence of breast cancer in the graft after purging have longer progression-free survival at a median follow-up of 18 months than patients who have persistent evidence of tumor. Purging is performed by selection of CD34+ marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs).