New research based on data from 21 centers shows that many more women approached their GPs with concerns. Far from these being women with unfounded concerns, it was women with a family history of breast cancer, which translated into appropriate referrals for testing. This research was funded by Breast Cancer Campaign…
“HPV is responsible for almost all cases of cervical and anal cancers, as well as 64 percent of vaginal cancers, 36 percent of penile cancers and 51 percent of vulvar cancers,” said Susan T. Vadaparampil, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior faculty member in the Health Outcomes and Behavior Program at Moffitt. “Women tend to be afflicted by HPV-induced cancer more than men; however, more men have genital and oral HPV infections than women.” These observations helped scientists characterize the biology of HPV infection at each anatomic site and aid in the development of HPV prevention strategies, including the vaccines Cervarix� and Gardasil�. Cervarix and Gardasil are approved for HPV prevention in young females aged 9 to 26 years…
“Impact of the Addition of Carboplatin and/or Bevacizumab to Neoadjuvant Once-Per-Week Paclitaxel Followed by Dose-Dense Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide on Pathologic Complete Response Rates in Stage II to III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: CALGB 40603 (Alliance)” was accepted as a rapid publication and published online this month by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. It will come out in print in September. Because of its rapid growth rate, many women with triple-negative breast cancer receive chemotherapy to try to shrink it before undergoing surgery. …
The study findings defy the conventional belief that the two treatment interventions offer equal survival, and show the need to revisit some standards of breast cancer practice in the modern era. The research was presented at the 2014 Breast Cancer Symposium by Catherine Parker, MD, formerly a fellow at MD Anderson, now at the University of Alabama Birmingham. In the 1980s, both US-based and international randomized clinical studies found that BCT and mastectomy offered women with early stage breast cancer equal survival benefit…
Cancer arises due to genetic changes which cause normal cells to develop into tumors. As we learn more about breast cancer, we are seeing that it is not one single disease — the mutations in the genes that cause different cancers are not alike, and this is why tumors respond differently to treatment and grow at different rates. Currently, there are two key markers that clinicians use to predict response to treatments. Spotting the trends in tumor genetics and creating a system to diagnose tumor types is a primary objective of cancer scientists. …
In 2001, surgeons began using robotic technologies in operations to remove the prostate. To examine trends in the use of such robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures for prostate cancer patients, Steven Chang, MD, MS, of Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, led a team that analyzed 489,369 men who underwent non-RARP (i.e., open or laparoscopic radical prostatectomy) or RARP in the United States from 2003 to 2010. During the study period, RARP adoption (defined as performing more than 50 percent of annual radical prostatectomies with the robotic approach) increased from 0.7 percent to 42 percent of surgeons performing radical prostatectomies. Surgeons who performed at least 25 radical prostatectomies each year were more likely to adopt RARP…
In 2001, surgeons began using robotic technologies in operations to remove the prostate. To examine trends in the use of such robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures for prostate cancer patients, Steven Chang, MD, MS, of Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, led a team that analyzed 489,369 men who underwent non-RARP (i.e., open or laparoscopic radical prostatectomy) or RARP in the United States from 2003 to 2010. During the study period, RARP adoption (defined as performing more than 50 percent of annual radical prostatectomies with the robotic approach) increased from 0.7 percent to 42 percent of surgeons performing radical prostatectomies. Surgeons who performed at least 25 radical prostatectomies each year were more likely to adopt RARP…
“There is no effective surveillance technique for the detection of early stage ovarian cancer, so the only effective way to prevent it and save lives is to identify women at risk,” said David A. Fishman, MD, Director of the Mount Sinai Ovarian Cancer Risk Assessment Program and Professor and Fellowship Director in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He recommends that women with a family history of ovarian and breast cancers get a formal genetic evaluation by a board-certified genetic counselor. For women who have tested positive for a BRCA mutation or are identified to be at a high risk for developing ovarian cancer, preventive surgery should be considered to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes before ovarian cancer can develop. …
“There is no effective surveillance technique for the detection of early stage ovarian cancer, so the only effective way to prevent it and save lives is to identify women at risk,” said David A. Fishman, MD, Director of the Mount Sinai Ovarian Cancer Risk Assessment Program and Professor and Fellowship Director in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He recommends that women with a family history of ovarian and breast cancers get a formal genetic evaluation by a board-certified genetic counselor. For women who have tested positive for a BRCA mutation or are identified to be at a high risk for developing ovarian cancer, preventive surgery should be considered to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes before ovarian cancer can develop…
They are also screened less often than women with moderate disabilities or women with only one chronic condition, according to Dr. Sara Guilcher, an affiliate scientist with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital…