Archives: Diagnosis
Archived articles below are about diagnosis. Looking for other topics? Select a category or browse to view links to older news and journal articles about breast cancer.
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Best diagnostic tool you've never heard of?
Hear Dr. Deborah Rhodes talk about molecular breast imaging at a recent TED talk in this clip from YouTube. This one has gone viral on the Internet. See what all the fuss is about.
All about inflammatory breast cancer
A scary e-mail continues to circulate about a very scary type of breast cancer. Get the facts about inflammatory breast cancer from the folks at M.D.Anderson.
BreastCancer.org's founder talks about diagnosis
BreastCancer.org's founder, Dr. Marisa Weiss, talks about her own diagnosis in this New York Times article. She also blogs on the BC.org website.
Don't blame yourself
Newly diagnosed women often have one of two reactions: "I'm healthy: How can this happen?" and "It's my fault: I should have had those regular mammograms." Read why you can't blame yourself.
Study backs core needle biopsy efficacy
The information derived from core needle biopsy is reflective of the gene expression in the whole tumor, according to a study published in the journal, Breast Cancer Research. Read more about it.
Oncotype DX predicts recurrence
A new procedure may be able to predict recurrence, enabling doctors to tailor therapy to the patient, perhaps preventing needless chemotherapy. Read the article.
Tumor location may predict higher risk
If your tumor was in the lower inner quadrant of the breast, closer to the center of the body, you may be twice as likely to die of cancer as women with cancer diagnosed in other parts of the breast. Read the report.
Micrometastases predict worse outcome
Women with micrometastases in their bone marrow have a poorer prognosis than women with larger tumors or lymph node involvement, according to a new study. Read the report here.
Dogs can sniff out cancer?
Sure, you knew Fideau was a great companion when you were feeling under the weather, but now she may be your best medical advisor, too. Experts say dogs' sense of smell is as much as 100,000 times that of humans, and researchers in Great Britain have found that dogs can distinguish between the urine of bladder cancer patients and that of healthy people. This may be because people with the disease shed unique abnormal proteins in their urine. Read more here.
Inspired by canine abilities?
Harvard researchers have developed a simple urine test that appears to detect breast cancer and track tumor growth (perhaps inspired by our canine friends' abilities?) Read the details here.
Breast density, tumor growth = mammogram failure
For women in the 40 to 49 year old age group, breast density and rapid tumor growth can lower the sensitivity of mammographys, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read more here.
MRI better for dense breast
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is "significantly more sensitive" than mammography in detecting multiple malignant foci in dense breasts but not in fatty breasts, according to the American Journal of Roentgenology. Read more here.
Ductal lavage may not detect noninvasive breast cancer
Ductal lavage, a technique to collect breast cells from mammary ducts, may not find all cancers, though it still holds promise as a diagnostic tool. Read more >>>>
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MRI gauges treatment response
MRI also is a good tool for monitoring early response to chemotherapy, according to the journal, Radiology, because it can accurately measure tumor shrinkage. Read more.
Is delayed diagnosis preventable?
Delayed diagnosis, which can result in less promising outcomes, is at least partially preventable, say researchers at the California Pacific Medical Research Institute in San Francisco who published a study in the June 24, 2002 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The leading cause of delayed breast cancer diagnosis, they found, was doctors’ willingness to describe masses as benign without conducting biopsies. Read more.
SLN biopsy in node-negative women not associated with axillary relapse
Findings from a new study suggest that completion axillary dissection may not be necessary for breast cancer patients without sentinel lymph node (SLN) involvement. In fact, performing a formal dissection in such patients only seems to produce more complications. Read more.
MR accurate in detecting disease after lumpectomy
Some breast cancer patients who undergo a lumpectomy should then be considered for an MR examination because MR is an accurate way to look for any disease left in the breast, two new studies show. Read more >>>>
Risk not equal for both breasts
A newly published study finds that women who are diagnosed with the pre-cancerous condition lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) are more likely to develop breast cancer in the breast with LCIS than in the other breast. Experts had previously believed that women with LCIS were at equal risk of developing breast cancer in either breast, which led to some women deciding to undergo preventive bilateral mastectomies to remove both breasts. This latest study shows that that option may not be necessary. Read more >>>>
HER-2/neu overexpression not predictive of poor response to adjuvant therapy
In premenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, HER-2/neu overexpression is not associated with a poor response to adjuvant oophorectomy and tamoxifen treatment, according to a recent report. Read more about it.
