Archives: Treatment
Archived articles below are about treatment. Looking for other topics? Select a category or browse to view links to older news and journal articles about breast cancer.
| Go to: | Archives: diagnosis | Archives: screening | Archives: research | Archives: quality of life |
Axillary dissection overused?
A report about axillary dissection and lymph nodes hit the mainstream news recently and probably got your attention. The study says if you have one or two positive sentinel nodes, and you have lumpectomy, radiation and chemo, you may not need axillary dissection. Many doctors have been recommended AD if any nodes show up as positive.
Read it for yourself:
- The article from the Journal of the American Medical Assocation.
- Breastcancer.org's breakdown of the study
- New York Times coverage
- Watch instead of read: PBS NewsHour's Gwen Ifill talks to one of the study's authors.
New drug for triple-negative breast cancers
A new drug shows promise against breast cancers that are negative for ER, PR and HER2.
Taxotere may lead to better survival
Taxotere and other drugs may lead to better survival for early-stage primary cancers, according to a new report.
Implants carry risk of other cancers
Some implants carry a small risk of lymphoma and the FDA has issued a warning.
Device may better target HER-2
A new device that captures circulating tumor cells may be better at identifying breast cancers that are HER-2 positive than older staining methods, accorinding to a report from Artemis.
Amgen to introduce Prolia for bones
Amgen will market Prolia for osteoporosis in the U.S. and Europe this summer. The twice-a-year injectable will be quite expensive, though. Read more in this Wall Street Journal article.
Anemia drugs may interfere with Herceptin
Using anemia drugs (erythropoietin)and Herceptin at the same time may undercut the efficacy of the Herceptin, according to a study reported at Artemis.
Updated resources for bone metastases
Several new or updated resources for bone metastases are showing up on the Web.
CancerNetwork offers a diagnosis and guidelines site.
Bone Tumor.org has the best visuals of the several sites.
Network of Strength offers a basic primer on the topic.
More tests for pesonalizing treatment
The better we can tailor treatment, the better outcomes, according to researchers, and the less invasive treatment side effects. Clues for personalizing treatmentCheck out this piece about the latest research.
Also, read about ways to better target those who need chemotherapy.
Aspirin may have prevention properties
Lowly, cheap aspirin may have cancer prevention properties. Check out the full explanation at Breast Cancer.org.
Listen up: Antidepressants and tamoxifen
Still curious about the recent reports that antidepressants dilute the effects of tamoxifen? Log onto Sound Medicine, the Indy-based radio show, to hear more or to read the transcript.
Paxil and Welbutrin appear to be culprits that negate the effects of one of tamoxifen's agents. Read more.
Looking for a clinical trial?
If you are looking for Indiana-based clinical trials for breast cancer, check out this searchable database to see what's available through IUPUI.
Also, check out these offerings from Central Indiana Cancer Centers.
For a national database, check out this listing from Cancer.gov.
Bisphosphonates may cause femoral breaks
First, they caused jaw necrosis. Next, they were linked to good outcomes for preventing breast cancer. Now, bisphosphonates are in the news in connection to femoral (thigh bones)breaks.
Read for yourself the various bits of news about this drug commonly used to treat osteoporosis:
- Here's a sample of the initial news report.
- Here's the FDA's response.
- This topic is not new, though the most recent study is. Here's an article from the Mayo Clinic.
- This piece from the American Journal of Nursing talks about the "marketing of osteoporosis."
- Jane Brody of The New York Times weighs in.
- Menopause.org spells out the usefulness and dangers.
- Read a research article about osteoporosis in young survivors.
Remember, breast cancer patients have different needs from other women, so talk to your doctor. The bottom line that I came away with is that these are not drugs that are to be taken indefinitely -- perhaps not by anyone.
Astra Zeneca repackages Arimidex
For all those people who spent too much time trying to pry out the little pills from the blister packaging, it's time to rejoice. Astra Zeneca will be putting Arimidex prescriptions back into bottles where they belong.
Beginning in the summer, the company started packaging the pills in plastic bubbles surrounded by foil and cardboard, with the whole card ensconced in yet another heavy cardboard, much like that of Fosamax and other drugs, so that the patient can keep track of whether she's taken the daily dose.
Of course, the irony is that Arimidex itself can cause bone and joint pain, making it even harder for some of us to dig out the pills. And, double-irony, this packaging must cost a fortune, which adds up when we already are paying a fortune for a month's supply.
If your pharmacist tries to foist off these troublesome packages on you, tell him or her that Astra Zeneca says there are plenty of bottles of pills "at the warehouse."
Five-day radiation may not spare tissue
A five-day course of radiotherapy to treat breast cancer may expose as much lung and heart tissue to potentially toxic radiation as does the standard six weeks of treatment, say researchers at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. Read more about it.
Women not getting reconstruction info
Women with breast cancer faced with treatment decisions often are not told by their surgeons about the possibility of breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, a study finds. When these conversations do occur, many more women choose mastectomy, researchers found. Read more about it.
Avastin not good for breast cancer
Cancer drug Avastin should not be approved to treat women with breast cancer, a U.S. advisory panel recommended. Read the report.
AIs after tamoxifen show benefit
Postmenopausal women with breast cancer who successfully complete five years of tamoxifen therapy derive significant benefit from an additional three years of therapy with the anastrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, according to study findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read about it.
Web MD offers reconstruction guide
Web MD offers a guide to those looking for info about reconstruction. It's sponsored by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and includes info which you can use to ask questions of your own doctors. The guide includes plenty of links, too. Check out the guide.
Back to top
Chemo drugs may have toxic effects
Drugs such as Neuplasta and Neupogen may have unintended side effects, according to the journal, Blood. In laboratory tests on mice, researchers found that such medications often used to reduce toxic side effects of chemotherapy induced bone loss and helped tumors grow in bone. Resarchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are recommending increased awareness of bone health during cancer treatments. Read more about it.
UPDATE: The FDA announced in November that it approved new labeling warnings for Epogen, Procrit, and Aranesp. The FDA says the new warnings address the potential risks of these drugs, which in excessive doses, can cause tumor growth and shortened survival in patients with advanced breast, head and neck, lymphoid and non-small cell lung cancer. Read the report.
HER2-Neu patients have another weapon
For women with HER2-Neu who develop a resistance to Heceptin, the new drug Tykerb may offer some help. Read more about it.
AIs and bone loss
According to results presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, women who are treated with aromatase inhibitors experience bone loss. However, this bone loss is not likely to cause osteoporosis in women with normal bone density before beginning therapy, but those who begin the therapy and already have lost bone may need treatment. Read the article here.
Women stop taking tamoxifen before five years
Almost a quarter of women treated for breast cancer stop taking tamoxifen within one year, a new study shows, which is a rate twice as high as indicated by previous studies. Read some of the reasons.
Improved treatment for HER2-neu negatives
We've heard a lot lately about the advantages of Herceptin for women with HER2-neu positive breast cancer. Now, there's news about improved treatment for those who are HER2-neu positive. According to an article recently published in the Annals of Oncology, the use of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation improves outcomes of women with early, HER2-neu negative breast cancer. Read more about it.
Pregnant women can withstand treatment
A substantially greater number of pregnant women have been treated now than ever before, providing a growing confidence in the safety and positive outcome of chemotherapy for pregnant breast cancer patients, according to new research. Read more about it.
Tumor biology dictates hormonal therapy choices
The characteristics of breast cancer tumors can help physicians choose the most effective treatment sequence with tamoxifen and the newer aromatase inhibitors, according to a study led by researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Read more about it.
Partial radiation safe, mild
As a treatment for early breast cancer, accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) results in good to excellent cosmetic outcomes in nearly all patients and is associated with only mild toxic effects, new research shows. With APBI, radioactive "seeds" are placed in the breast that deliver radiation to the tumor site instead of to the whole breast as typically occurs with standard radiation therapy. Read more about it.
Research questions benefits of cutting fat
Clinical data from the Women’s Health Initiative reveals that decreasing total dietary fat intake does not lower the risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer or cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.Read more about it.
Back to top
Evista as effective as tamoxifen in prevention
For women taking tamoxifen to reduce risk of breast cancer, raloxifen (brand name Evista) is as effective and presents fewer side effects, according to results of the STAR trial.
For details, check out BreastCancer.org's explanation of what this news may mean to women who already have been treated for breast cancer.
Femara beneficial even years after treatment
Another aromatase inhibitor, Femara, offers advantages even for women who have gone years beyond their treatment, according to a new report. Read the report.
Dose dense chemo effective for ER-negatives
Researchers are finding that dose dense chemotherapy regimens are benefial for estrogen receptor negative patients. Read the report.
Can surgery spark rapid tumor growth?
According to "indirect" evidence from a new analysis of trial data, removing a breast cancer can cause rapid growth of tumors elsewhere in the body, researchers at the Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School found. Read the report here.
Progesterone receptor gives clues
According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancers that are estrogen receptor positive but progesterone-receptor negative are more aggressive than breast cancers that are positive for both receptors. Findings indicate that this also may be why some tumors become tamoxifen-resistant. Read the report here.
Mitotic activity predicts recurrence
A test to determine the mitotic activity index in cancer cells of women with early-stage, lymph node-negative breast cancer may serve as a good predictor of risk of recurrence, as well as indicate the level of agressive therapy. Read the report.
Faslodex, Arimidex produce similar results
The journal Cancer reports that for women with advanced breast cancer, Faslodex (fulvestrant) and Arimidex (anastrozole) produced similar survival rates. Read the report here.
Chemo safe for pregnant women
The Journal of Clinical Oncology reports that women in their second or third trimesters of pregnancy may safely undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer. Read the report.
Aromatherapy fails to help anxiety
The Journal of Clinical Oncology reports that aromatherapy during radiation treatment did not appear to reduce anxiety in any of cancer patients and may actually increase it. Read the report.
Back to top
Lymph nodes may predict recurrence
Even though we keep reading about new techniques such as gene assays and other ways to discover the properties of breast cancer tumors, lymph nodes still offer insight. Researchers have found that lymph nodes contain immune cells that fight invasion, and testing the levels of these cells may be a method of predicting recurrence. Read the report here.
Researchers caution against supplements
Researchers with the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) at Cornell University say that women using supplements and herbal treatments should be careful, as these products are unregulated and may be unsafe. While the report doesn't say there is no benefit in soy, red clover, black cohosh and other herbal preparations, it does question the safety of these products. Read the report here.
Obese women may be shortchanged
Obese women who have chemotherapy may not be getting the right mixture and quantity of the drugs, according to a new study. Read the report here.
Avastin with chemo delays progression
Avastin (bevacizumab) combined with standard chemotherapy delays progression of cancer in women with previously untreated or metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a clinical trial. Read more here.
Back to top
Advexin reduces tumor size
Advexin reduces tumor size an average of 80 percent when used with traditional chemotherapy drugs before surgery, according to research reported at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Read more here.
Radiation-related heart disease declines
According to the National Cancer Institute, the risk of death from heart disease caused by radiation therapy for breast cancer continues to decline. Read more here.
Abraxane may top Taxol
Abraxane has been approved by the FDA for treatment of advanced breast cancer. It may control cancer better than Taxol, and because it does not contain Cremophor as Taxol does, patients don't need steroids. Read more here.
Invasive lobular may not need chemotherapy
Chemo may not be necessary to a good prognosis for women with invasive lobular breast cancer, according to a recent study. Women with the disease may do as well without it. Read about the study here.
