August 12, 2006, 6:34 AM CT

Success Of MRI-guided Breast Biopsy

Radiologists can help confirm that an MRI-guided breast biopsy has successfully removed the lesion by taking an x-ray of the lesion and slices of the lesion, a new study shows.

"Contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast is becoming increasingly useful in patients with lesions that cannot be detected with other techniques," said Basak Erguvan-Dogan, MD, radiologist in Breast Imaging at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "However, it is hard to confirm removal of the targeted lesion because the abnormality does not enhance after being removed from the breast," she said.

Currently, patients who have MRI-guided needle localization and excision of abnormalities may be asked to have follow-up breast MRI; if the lesion has not been successfully removed, another biopsy procedure will need to be done. "By taking x-rays of the lesion specimen, then slicing it up and taking additional x-rays, we can determine if the lesion has been removed or if additional tissue needs to be excised while the patient is still in the operating room," Dr. Erguvan-Dogan said.

Whole specimen and sliced specimen radiography was performed in 10 patients, and X-raying the lesion as a whole and in slices proved to be valuable, said Dr. Erguvan-Dogan. "In all five malignant cases, sliced specimen radiographs showed the lesion in question, helped the pathologist correctly identify the lesion while the patient was still in the operating room and helped the surgeon obtain negative surgical margins," said Dr. Erguvan-Dogan. In addition, "whole specimen radiography is able to correctly locate fractured biopsy needle localization wires, which may be removed before the patient left the operating room," she said.........

Posted by: Betsy      Permalink         Source

August 12, 2006, 6:10 AM CT

"DES Daughters" And Risk Of Breast Cancer

So-called "DES daughters," born to mothers who used the anti-miscarriage drug diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy, are at a substantially greater risk of developing breast cancer in comparison to women who were not exposed to the drug in utero.

Reporting in the recent issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a nationwide team of scientists observed that DES daughters over age 40 had 1.9 times the risk of developing breast cancer, in comparison to unexposed women of the same age. They also observed that the relative risk of developing the cancer was even greater in DES daughters over age 50, but say the number of older women in their study group is, as yet, too small for a firm statistical comparison.

"This is really unwelcome news because so a number of women worldwide were prenatally exposed to DES, and these women are just now approaching the age at which breast cancer becomes more common," said the study's lead author, Julie Palmer, Sc.D., professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.

She said an estimated one to two million women in the U.S. were exposed to DES, which was frequently prescribed to women from the 1940s through 1960s to prevent miscarriages.

The ongoing study suggests that DES-exposed women are in the process of developing the typical range of breast cancers after age 40 at a faster rate than non-exposed women of the same ages. The scientists also observed that the highest relative risk of developing breast cancer was observed in study participants from the cohorts with the highest cumulative doses of DES exposure.........

Posted by: Betsy      Permalink         Source

August 4, 2006, 0:06 AM CT

Links between DNA damage and breast cancer

Researchers from the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have uncovered a pattern of DNA damage in connective tissues in the human breast that could shed light on the early stages of breast cancer and possibly serve as an early warning of a heightened risk of cancer.

In the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Breast cancer detection and therapy generally target epithelial cells, the primary locus of breast cancers, but in recent years evidence has accumulated that genetic mutations that develop into cancer may occur initially in a deeper layer of breast tissue, called the stroma. Genetic changes in this connective tissue that supports the breast's network of glands and ducts have been reported to precede the malignant conversion of tumor cells, but the actual role of stromal cells in the early stages of breast cancer initiation and progression is not well understood.

In two recent papers*, the PNRI/NIST team explored the occurrence of damage to stromal DNA caused by free radicals and other oxidants. NIST researchers used a high-precision chemical analysis technique (liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with isotope dilution) to identify specific DNA lesions, while the PNRI team used a spectroscopic technique (Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy) to reveal subtle conformational changes to DNA base and backbone structures. Such alterations to the molecular structure can change or disrupt gene expression.........

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July 28, 2006, 10:42 PM CT

Radiation Cocktail For Breast Cancer

A carefully determined mixture of electron and x-ray beams precisely treated breast tumors while significantly reducing collateral skin damage in 78 patients, scientists will report on August 1 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine in Orlando. The key to choosing the right mixture of beams, as well as their individual properties, was a sophisticated computer approach developed by medical physicists Jinsheng Li, Ph.D. (Jinsheng.Li@fccc.edu) and Chang-Ming Ma, Ph.D. of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

In treating shallow tumors such as those that occur in the breast, physicians have been turning to mixed-beam radiation treatment (MBRT), which employs separate beams of electrons and photons (x-rays). The two types of radiation complement one another, as electrons generally travel to shallow depths while the x-rays can penetrate to deeper parts of the tumor as needed.

However, each beam interacts in complex ways with its environment, making their exact path to the tumor region hard to predict. Nonetheless, physicists can calculate the probability for a given beam to follow a desired trajectory.

Therefore, Li and Ma use computers to simulate billions of trips of each beam to the unique landscape of each tumor. Gathering the statistics from these billions of trials, they determine the best beam properties and mixtures.........

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July 19, 2006, 10:30 PM CT

Breast Stem Cell Secrets

The most aggressive form of breast cancer may originate from breast stem cells that have undergone genetic mishaps.

Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium scientists from The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, using mouse models, have discovered that breast stem cells do not express receptors for the female hormones oestrogen or progesterone. These and other features of the stem cell resemble the aggressive 'basal' subtype of breast cancer. There is increasing evidence that breast cancer is not simply a single disease. Scientists now view breast cancer as a heterogeneous disease, made up of various subtypes. This observation has led to speculation that breast tumours are derived from different cell types that could include the breast stem cell or its descendents that have suffered genetic accidents.

This possibility has generated great interest in understanding the composition of normal breast cells including the stem cell. A question of particular interest is whether the breast stem cell expresses receptors for oestrogen and progesterone and the marker 'Her2', since these help define the subtypes of breast cancer; and also guide current approaches to therapy.

The WEHI team, together with the Eaves group in Vancouver, have found that the breast stem cell in mice is 'triple negative' for oestrogen, progesterone and Her2 receptors but does express certain 'basal cell' markers. These characteristics also define the basal subtype of breast cancer, which is more commonly seen in tumours that develop in women who are carriers of the breast cancer predisposing gene BRCA1.........

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July 19, 2006, 6:15 AM CT

Improving Breast Cancer Diagnosis

New software created by FAU scientists and Boca Raton Community Hospital is set to improve breast cancer diagnosis. When used in combination with magnetic resonance imaging, this software gives a much better quality picture and makes it easier for the physicians to detect abnormalities among normal breast tissue seen in a mammogram or ultrasound.

For hard-to-diagnose cases, it could save a woman from a mastectomy by pinpointing the dimensions of a cancer and giving doctors the option of a lumpectomy.

It also could save a woman's life by finding cancers too small to show up in regular detection methods.

"There are a number of cases when you get a suspicious feeling from a mammography but you don't have a definitive diagnosis," said Roger Goldwyn, a mathematics professor at Florida Atlantic University who helped develop the new technology. "This enhanced MRI allows you to really determine what is there."

The software, technically called contrast enhanced dynamic imagining, is being used at Boca Raton Community Hospital's Center for Breast Care on high-risk patients and those recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Eventhough the Food and Drug Administration approved the software in 2004, officials are just now asking for $10 million in federal money to help continue the research and package the program to allow more hospitals to use it.........

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July 9, 2006, 8:33 PM CT

Resistance To Chemotherapy In Breast Cancer

A collaborative study between the IDIBAPS - Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and the Hospital del Mar de Barcelona permits to establish a predictive factor in the resistance to chemotherapy in breast cancer and to establish possible therapeutic targets for the improvement of this therapy. This study has been published this month in the journal Endocrine-Related Cancer and is the result of the work initiated by Dr. Albanell's Group in Hospital Clínic, and finished in Hospital del Mar, where he leads the Unit of Oncology since almost a year. From the beginning, this study had the participation of the Unit of Pathology and Oncology of Hospital del Mar, and the Unit of Research on Cancer Experimental Therapeutics of Hospital del Mar-IMIM.

This study shows clinical evidence of the role played by the nuclear factor (NF)-?B in breast cancer and makes it a key target for new therapys, both to be aware of its existence and to predict a low chemotherapy response. If this is the case, the blocking of the factor previous to therapy is needed in order to increase the efficiency of therapy. The results of this study are the first would be published in which nuclear factor (NF)-?B, which promotes the survival of cells, has been specifically studied in order to observe its relevance in the prediction of response to chemotherapy.........

Posted by: Betsy      Permalink

July 7, 2006, 7:46 AM CT

Drug Combination for Male Breast Cancer

Medical oncologists across the nation want to know whether a certain drug combination can slow the progression of male breast cancer, a rare disease that often goes undiagnosed until it's in an advanced stage.

Zeina Nahleh, MD, director of breast oncology in the University of Cincinnati's (UC) division of hematology and oncology, is leading a national phase-2 clinical trial to test whether the drug anastrozole (Arimidex), currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating breast cancer in postmenopausal women, can effectively fight the same disease in men.

"If we're going to make significant advances against the disease," says Nahleh, "we need better male-specific therapy strategies."

Prior research has shown that the female hormone estrogen promotes the growth of certain types of breast cancer. Anastrozole is one of a class of drugs, known as non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors, that block the tumor's use of estrogen and slow its development.

By treating male breast cancer with a combination of anastrozole and a synthetic hormone called goserelin, Nahleh believes physicians may be able to stop the transition of the male hormone testosterone to the estrogen estradiol, significantly lowering the man's overall estrogen levels and limiting breast tumor growth.........

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June 28, 2006, 7:03 AM CT

Thoughts On Cancer Prevention

Cancer prevention is the Holy Grail among breast cancer scientists and they are all exited about the addition one more drug to fight breast cancer. Use of one of these drugs would cut down the risks of developing breast cancer markedly.

While tamoxifen and raloxifene are primary breast cancer preventive drugs meaning they are effective in prevention of breast cancer in women who never had breast cancer. Drugs like tamoxifen, Arimidex (anastrozole), Femara (letrozole), and Aromasin (exemestane) are also used as secondary preventative agents in women who had been diagnosed with beast cancer but had undergone surgical removal of the cancer.

The story of tamoxifen and raloxifene is not projected as an outright success in the breast cancer prevention. Taking these pills for a long time may trigger some other troubles. Tamoxifen is associated with increased risk of blood clots (DVT and pulmonary embolism) and increased risk of uterine cancer. A recent clinical trial has shown that raloxifene may be safer in this regard and would provide same level of breast cancer prevention. Raloxifene has the added advantage of improving the bone density with long term use.

Drugs like Arimidex, Femara, and Aromasin are members of a group called aromatase inhibitors. These drugs are safer than tamoxifen in terms of increased risk of blood clots and uterine cancer, but are associated with increased risk of causing fractures.........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink

June 27, 2006, 7:53 PM CT

BRCA1 and BRCA2

BRCA1 is a large gene, located on the 17th chromosome and this gene has a very complex three dimensional structure and function. Mutations on the BRCA1 gene can occur in several parts of the large gene and till now about 500 or more different kinds of mutations are identified on BRCA1. Siblings inherit BRCA1 mutations as an autosomal dominant pattern, which means the features of the mutated gene can be expressed just with the passing of single copy of the mutated gene from any one of the parents.

BRCA1 mutations are associated with increased risk of breast malignancy during the life of the person possessing the mutated gene. A woman carrying BRCA1 mutation has about 56 to 85 % chance of developing a breast cancer diagnosis in her lifespan. Apart from the risk of development of breast malignancy, BRCA1 mutations are also associated with higher risk levels of ovary cancers and prostate cancers in the carrier of the mutated gene. The association of BRCA1 mutation and ovary cancer is very much marked and a woman carrying BRCA1 mutation has aproximately 15 % to 45 % risk of having ovary cancer in her lifetime. By comparison only about 1.8 percent of women with no inherited BRCA abnormality get a diagnosis of ovary cancer. The association between prostate cancer and male carriers of BRCA1 is not as good compared to breast cancer and ovary cancer risk, seen in women, but evidence shows there is a close link between the two entities.........

Posted by: Betsy      Permalink

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