External Beam Partial Breast Irradiation Most Cost-effective Treatment

External beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) is the most cost-effective method for treating postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer based on utilities, recurrence risks and costs when compared to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) and brachytherapy partial breast irradiation (brachy-PBI), according to a study in the June 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

In Trastuzumab-Resistant Metastatic Breast Cancer, Small Molecule Inhibitor Shows Promise

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that a combination of trastuzumab and neratinib (HKI-272) a novel small molecule inhibitor of the HER2 receptor (ErbB2) appears active in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have progressed on previous trastuzumab based therapies. More than one-quarter of the women in a phase I/II trial had their tumors shrink on the combination therapy.

“I think this is very promising. Neratinib induces clinically meaningful responses,” says Ramona Swaby, M.D., a medical oncologist and attending physician at Fox Chase. Swaby will present the study results on Monday, June 1, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Chemotherapy Chosen By More Older Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer

A new study examining treatment decision-making by older women with early stage breast cancer shows that 45 percent of women would choose to get chemotherapy after surgery — a figure higher than the national average of women getting the additional treatment.

“This was an unexpected finding,” says the study’s lead investigator, Jeanne Mandelblatt, MD, MPH, associate director for population sciences at GUMC’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of oncology and medicine at GUMC. “While these numbers are in contrast with the uniformly high use of chemotherapy in younger early-stage breast cancer patients, they suggest that older women are learning more about their disease and may be weighing the risks and benefits more thoroughly.”

Gene Signature Predicts Good Outcome In Breast Cancer

Researchers have identified a genetic signature that can predict an improved clinical outcome in patients with breast cancer, and which could help in the development of new targeted therapies.

By analysing the expression of different genes induced by a specific mutation in a molecule called PIK3CA, a critical part of the pathway commonly deregulated in breast cancer, they found that these genes were correlated with an improved clinical outcome in over 1500 women with the disease.

New Women’s Imaging Technique Allows For A More Accurate Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

Breast elastography allows physicians to give a more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a study performed at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore. Breast elastography is a new technique which looks at the mechanical properties of tissues (relative stiffness) as opposed to conventional ultrasound which looks at the backscatter of transmitted ultrasound waves through tissues.

Ninety-nine women with 110 sonographically visible lesions were evaluated with ultrasound, elastography and combined ultrasound and elastography. 26 lesions were malignant and 84 were benign on histology. “All breast cancers (100%) in the study were diagnosed correctly by elastography alone compared to 88.5% by conventional ultrasound,” said Llewellyn Sim, MD, lead author of the study. “The use of breast elastography alone or combined with ultrasound provides a more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer,” said Dr. Sim.

Large Study Documents How P53 Mutations Link To High-Grade Breast Cancer, Poor Outcomes

In what is believed to be the largest study of its kind in the US, researchers have found that almost 26 percent of women studied who have breast cancer have mutations in a gene important in controlling cell growth and death, and that patients with mutations in this gene – known as p53 – had poorer outcomes including a significantly increased risk of death from the cancer.

Researchers say their study, presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), confirm the findings of other smaller studies, and is an important step forward in understanding risk factors that lead to development of breast cancer.

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Statin Therapy Ineffective In Breast Cancer Prevention

Laboratory work in animals showed limited activity when statins were given to prevent breast cancer, according to a report in the February issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Statins, sold under brand names like Lipitor and Zocor, are primarily given to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, and prominent cardiologists almost universally agree that their use has changed the landscape.

Breast Cancer Risk Rapidly Declined After Women Stopped Taking Postmenopausal Combined Hormone Therapy

Women who stopped taking the postmenopausal hormone combination of estrogen plus progestin experienced a marked decline in breast cancer risk which was unrelated to mammography utilization change, according to a study from the Women’s Health Initiative led by a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) investigator.

The study, based on data from the Women’s Health Initiative, will be published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

New Research Moves Us One Step Closer To Personalised Breast Cancer Treatment

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have found that a test, already used in breast cancer diagnosis, can also predict who will and who won’t benefit from commonly used chemotherapy drugs.

The research shows that women who have a duplication of chromosome 17 in their tumour will benefit from anthracycline drugs, while others can be spared the side-effects of the treatment. This group of chemotherapy drugs includes epirubicin which has already been shown to improve women’s survival by a third.