Study Finds Use of Breast MRI in Women Increasing The overall use of breast magnetic resonance imaging has increased, with the procedure most commonly used for diagnostic evaluations and screenings, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. While breast MRI is being used increasingly, its sensitivity leads to higher false-positive rates and it is also more expensive…
The findings, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, investigated the timing of trastuzumab administration with anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy. "In a previous MD Anderson study concurrent administration of trastuzumab with chemotherapy, including anthracyclines, demonstrated high pathologic complete response rates in breast cancer patients with HER-2-positive disease," Buzdar said. …
"The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination coverage indicates that in 2012, only 53.8 percent of girls between 13 and 17 years old initiated HPV vaccination, and only 33.4 percent of them received all three doses," said Mahboobeh Safaeian, Ph.D., an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md. "We wanted to evaluate whether two doses, or even one dose, of the HPV 16/18 L1 VLP vaccine [Cervarix] could induce a robust and sustainable response by the immune system," she added. "We found that both HPV 16 and HPV 18 antibody levels in women who received one dose remained stable four years after vaccination…
"We know very little about male breast cancer since it comprises only 0.6 percent of all breast cancer, and nearly all therapy is based on female breast cancer studies. This study demonstrates that just as in women, men with early stage breast cancer have the same outcome with a mastectomy or a lumpectomy followed by radiation. In women, breast-conserving surgery is the standard and preferred treatment for the majority of women…
Results from the research, which looked retrospectively at the treatment of women diagnosed with cervical cancer during a two year period, showed 18% of cervical cancer patients in the East African country died within two years of a diagnosis. Dr Ian Hampson, from The University of Manchester’s Institute of Cancer Sciences who oversaw the research, said the findings, published in PLOS One this week, add further weight to the call to spend more on cancer screening and prevention in Kenya…
A study of nearly eight million Swedes aged 15 and over found that among the 12,669 young people diagnosed with cancer between the age of 15 and 30 there was a 60% increased risk of suicide or attempted suicide. The risk was highest during the first year immediately after diagnosis when suicidal behaviour was 1.5-fold (150%) higher among the cancer patients compared with the cancer-free group. Dr Donghao Lu, a PhD student in the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden), said: "We found that there were 22 suicides among the cancer patients versus 14 expected and 136 attempts at suicide versus 80 expected. This equates to an extra 64 instances of suicidal behaviour among the 12,669 young cancer people…
The findings, presented on Oct. 28, 2013, at the 12th annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that African-American women may be less likely to benefit from available HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer. HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection with more than 40 subtypes. The virus causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer, which begin as precancerous cervical abnormalities. …
The study, which appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, was led by Sarah Primeau, MSW, research assistant in the department of general internal medicine at BUSM. Previous studies on healthcare barriers have shown that training individuals from the community, known as patient navigators, to provide emotional and logistical support to patients is an effective way to care for patients in a culturally sensitive way. However, these studies have not addressed whether patient navigators are also effective in addressing social service barriers such as financial problems, employment issues, health insurance, housing constraints and adult and child care. "Social barriers are more complex than other obstacles to healthcare such as transportation or language and will likely require interventions that healthcare providers and patient navigators aren’t traditionally trained to provide," said Primeau…
"Unfortunately, college-age women generally do not consider themselves at risk for breast cancer," said Dr. Mercier. "However, there are several risk factors that contribute to the development of breast cancer that need to be understood early in life to prevent the development of breast cancer down the road." By the end of 2013, more than 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S…
The study, carried out by researchers at the UCL Department of Women’s Cancer, found that abnormal levels of female hormones in the bloodstream could be the answer. The findings have already led to more research into novel ways of preventing cancers in women at risk. According to the results of the study, women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations are exposed to different levels of the female hormones oestradiol and progesterone, which are already known to be risk-factors for breast and ovarian cancer. …