An international study has revealed that MRI monitoring in women with mutations in the BRCA1 genes significantly reduces breast cancer mortality without the need for preventive mastectomy.
Breast MRI is increasingly being used as a primary breast cancer screening exam for young women. It brings benefits in women with dense breasts, who are at an elevated risk of developing breast cancer. The technique is also being ordered as a supplemental screening exam following mammography or breast ultrasound for women of all ages at high risk. But use of breast MRI as a screening tool is…
A genetic test for BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations may drive women to undergo breast cancer surgery, even though their risk might not even be drastically affected by this, a new study finds.
An international team highlights the importance of localising BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Annual MRI screenings starting at ages 30-35 may reduce breast-cancer mortality by more than 50% among women who carry certain genetic changes in three genes, according to a new modeling analysis.
Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now, they have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic have opened a novel study for a vaccine aimed at eventually preventing triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and lethal form of the disease. This phase I trial is designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the vaccine in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer and to characterize and optimize the body’s immune response. The…
Contact shielding is one of the most divisive areas in radiography. Is it still essential in protecting patients from radiation, or has new technology made this precaution obsolete? Two experts debated the issue at the ISRRT congress in Dublin.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…
In the emerging era of personalized medicine, risk-based breast cancer screening protocols may be better than the one-size-fits all approach. It’s time to consider adopting them, Jack Cuzick, Ph.D., said in the President’s Address of the 2021 Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Symposium.
MRI is the most sensitive method to detect breast cancer. However, the current breast cancer guidelines for Europe, Germany and Austria, still only recommend it for certain indications: For early detection in high risk patients, for differentiation between scarring and recurrences after breast-conserving treatment and to detect cancers of unknown primary site. This is the theory. However, in…
An up-and-coming gene therapy for blood disorders. A new class of medications for cystic fibrosis. Increased access to telemedicine. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic. In conjunction with the 2020 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland Clinic…
Biologists have discovered a way to stop cells from one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer spreading in the lab. The study points towards new avenues of research to combat the devastating disease. The results of the study of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by the team from the Universities of Manchester, Glasgow and Sheffield and funded by Breast Cancer Now are published in Oncogene.…
Breast cancer is rare for women under 40. So, a breast cancer diagnosis can be shocking news for a young woman to hear. “Breast cancer in young women can have its own risk factors and traits, and young women have their own considerations when deciding on a treatment,” says Nadine Tung, MD, head of breast medical oncology and cancer genetics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).…
Research led by the University of Birmingham has found important new ways that the BRCA1 gene functions which could help develop our understanding of the development of ovarian and breast cancers. The research, published in Nature, was led by experts at the University of Birmingham’s Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology and Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences and is part of a five-year…
A small study of adults with the most common form of pancreatic cancer adds to evidence that patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations long linked to a high risk of breast cancer have poorer overall survival rates than those without the mutations. The same study also found that those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 had better survival rates with platinum-based chemotherapy, compared with similar patients…
Healthy women who carry a breast cancer-causing mutation in the BRCA1 gene, not only reduce their risk of developing the disease but also their chances of dying from it if they have both breasts removed, according to new research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. However, the study also found that for women with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, there was no difference in their…
Until now, familial breast cancer has only partly been linkable to genetic risk markers. In a worldwide joint effort, researchers have now identified further genetic variants that affect the risk for breast cancer. The study, which was conducted with participation of researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital, has now been published in Nature.…
The Breast International Group (BIG), an international not-for-profit organisation that represents the largest global network of academic research groups dedicated to finding cures for breast cancer, is welcoming three new members in East Asia: the Breast Disease Professional Committee of CMEA (BDPCC), China; the Korean Cancer Study Group (KCSG), South Korea; and the Thai Society of Clinical…
Of the nearly 4 million women in the United States who have had either breast cancer or ovarian cancer, at least 1.5 million have a high risk of carrying certain types of genetic mutations that could increase their risk for additional cancers in the future.
In a bid to detect cancers early and in a noninvasive way, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have developed a test that spots tiny amounts of cancer-specific DNA in blood.
UK-based researchers believe personalised treatment for breast cancer is within sight after uncovering what they say is the most detailed picture to date of which genetic variations contribute to development of the disease.
Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), has announced the publication of new research indicating that testing for variants in 7 cancer-associated genes (versus the usual process of testing in just 2 genes) followed by risk-reduction management could cost-effectively improve life expectancy for women at risk of…
Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she'd tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows a spike in genetic tests for breast cancer after actress’ public disclosure, but no corresponding increase in mastectomies.
An international team led by researchers at the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore discovered that genetically determined breast cancer can be largely prevented by blocking a bone gene. An already approved drug could be quickly available and would then be the first breast cancer prevention drug.
“I am very concerned about the impact that Angelina Jolie has on the media,” Walter Rocca, professor of epidemiology and neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, stated. He wasn’t hinting to Jolie’s acting choices or waifish silhouette, but to the confusion surrounding her decision to remove her ovaries to prevent ovarian cancer. By Mélisande Rouger
A magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique that monitors biochemical changes in tissue could improve the management of women at risk of breast cancer.
Israel - Researchers are using breath-test technology to detect volatile organic compounds to tell whether a patient has stomach cancer.
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg have been the first to prove that genetic and environmental risk factors for breast cancer do not act independently of each other.
The benfit of breast cancer screening for women over aged 50 is beyond doubt. However, what does a systematic search yield for breast cancer in women aged between 40 and 49? This question, which remains controversial, was raised again at ECR 2012.
2011 The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) has published the program for its 2011 Annual Meeting being held July 23 – 28 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. This year the Annual Meeting features almost 300 individual educational events in a variety of formats. Hot topics for 2011 include cancer, obesity, diabetes, and healthcare reform.
From first lady of breast MRI to the Germany’s most influential woman in radiology – that’s one way to describe Professor Christiane Kuhl’s switch from being Vice-Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Vice President of the University of Bonn to become Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital Aachen (UKA).
The Innovation Prize for outstanding, application-oriented ideas in life sciences has been awarded by the Working Group of BioRegions at the Biotechnica in Hanover to research groups from Heidelberg, Munich and Ulm. Professor Lisa Wiesmüller, of the Women’s Hospital, University of Ulm, received the €2,000 prize for developing a test system for the identification and early detection of breast…
'Diagnostics is not diagnostics, not even when it relates to a specific indication such as breast cancer,' says Professor Walter Heindel MD (right), who heads the Munster Mammography and Breast Centre Reference Centre at Munster University Hospital, focusing on the dissimilarities among patient groups and their peculiarities.
EH correspondent H-C Pruszinsky reports
Carrying a mutated BRIP1 gene doubles the risk of breast cancer — by aged 70 these women's risk rises from 1-in-12 to 1-in-6.
Guidelines updated for high-risk women aged between 20-49 years.
An unparalleled legal challenge has been underway in the EU regarding the number of human gene patents held by US-based corporation Myriad Genetics.