Worldwide Breast Cancer, a global health charity focused on finding breast cancer better, uses Know Your Lemons, an innovative campaign and educational tool to teach a diverse population about breast cancer symptoms and detection.
A new genetic study by UK-based scientists suggests that immunotherapy drugs could prove to be an effective treatment for some breast cancer patients. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, near Cambridge – one of the world’s leading genome centres – and their collaborators, have identified particular genetic changes in a DNA repair mechanism in breast cancer. Led by Dr Serena…
Breast cancer patients face complex decisions about their treatment. “Knowledge is a key component of decision making, and yet it’s consistently low even among patients who have received treatment. We need better tools to make these decisions more informed,” says Sarah T. Hawley, Ph.D., MPH, professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine. Hawley and colleagues from the Cancer…
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers developed a single blood test that screens for eight common cancer types and helps identify the location of the cancer. The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from circulating DNA in the blood. The test is aimed at…
A new Michigan State University study is helping to answer a pressing question among scientists of just how close mice are to people when it comes to researching cancer. The findings, now published in PLOS Genetics, reveal how mice can actually mimic human breast cancer tissue and its genes, even more so than previously thought, as well as other cancers including lung, oral and esophagus.…
Hologic, Inc. announced it has obtained a CE Mark in Europe for the Brevera breast biopsy system with CorLumina imaging technology, a groundbreaking real-time breast biopsy and verification system that improves the patient experience and streamlines the biopsy process from start to finish. The first-of-its-kind Brevera system is designed to increase biopsy accuracy with real-time imaging that…
Mount Sinai researchers have discovered that normal immune cells called macrophages, which reside in healthy breast tissue surrounding milk ducts, play a major role in helping early breast cancer cells leave the breast for other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The macrophages play a role…
A new marker that could be used to diagnose fatal breast cancer up to one year ahead of current methods has been identified in a study led by UCL. The study found that changes detected in a part of DNA which the researches named EFC#93 could suggest early signs of deadly breast cancer. Importantly, these abnormal patterns are present in blood serum before the cancer becomes detectable in the…
Cancer surgeons perform an estimated 1.7 breast biopsies each year, according to the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations. This makes the procedure a significant proportion of cases referred to anatomic pathologists. This surgery, however, is time-consuming and not always accurate due to shortcomings in existing surgical technology and to human error. Now, a 3D-printed…
Hologic, Inc. announced that it has signed a development and distribution agreement with Clarius Mobile Health for its wireless, handheld ultrasound scanner. The partnership supports Hologic's commitment to early detection and will help ensure that women around the globe have access to the most accurate breast health solutions that are rooted in clinical superiority. "We're very excited to…
A new genetic test to assess breast cancer risk in women who have a family history of the disease could be introduced into clinical practice in the UK within the next few months. Devised at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Manchester, researchers believe the test for high-risk groups could also help reduce the number of women needing to have surgery to remove…
When immune cells invade the tumor, this is usually considered a good sign because the body's own immune system appears to be responding to the cancer. In the case of certain types of breast cancer immune cells, namely so-called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), these can determine survival rates and predict the usefulness of chemotherapy. This was shown by the largest meta study on TIL…
Contrast-enhanced digital mammography is comparable to breast MRI in evaluating residual breast cancer after neoadjuvant endocrine therapy or chemotherapy, according to the results of a study presented by Mayo Clinic researchers at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. “Our study aimed to compare contrast-enhanced mammography with breast MRI in evaluating residual breast cancer in…
Determining where breast cancer ends and healthy tissue begins is a critical part of breast cancer surgery. Surgeons are used to working closely during surgery with anatomic pathologists who generate pathology reports that specify the surgical or tumor margin, an area of healthy tissue surrounding a tumor that also must be excised to ensure none of the tumor is left behind. This helps prevent the…
Breast screening in the Netherlands seems to have had a marginal effect on breast cancer mortality over the past 24 years, suggests research in The BMJ. Their findings show that screening would be associated with up to 5% reductions in breast cancer mortality in women aged 50 and over, whereas improved treatments would be associated with a 28% reduction. And they point out that overdiagnosis…
Scientists are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support more effective breast cancer detection. The researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School, are using the machine learning system to predict whether breast lesions identified from a biopsy will…
With cancer care costs projected to increase 32% from 2010 to 2020, researchers are working to determine the main drivers of costs for treating breast cancer. Breast cancer accounted for the highest proportion (13%) of the $124.6 billion in Medicare money spent on cancer care in 2010. In a study led by Ami Vyas, PhD, MS, MBA (currently at the University of Rhode Island) and published in the…
Even 20 years after a diagnosis, women with a type of breast cancer fueled by estrogen still face a substantial risk of cancer returning or spreading, according to a new analysis from an international team of investigators published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Standard treatment for estrogen receptor-positive, or ER-positive, breast cancer includes five years of the endocrine-based…
Patients with advanced breast cancer who are treated with a combination of drugs that target specific molecules important for cancer development and also the hormones that are driving it are at increased risk of suffering adverse side effects. In new research presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4), researchers have shown that combining targeted…
Taking part in regular exercise can reduce fatigue and pain, and improve cardiovascular health and quality of life in women being treated for advanced breast cancer, according to new research presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4). Hundreds of thousands of women around the world are being treated for advanced breast cancer, where the tumour has…
Patients with advanced breast cancer have a better quality of life for longer if the progression of their disease can be delayed, according to new results presented at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC 4) in Lisbon. Professor Nadia Harbeck, head of the Breast Cancer Centre at the University of Munich (Germany), told the meeting that analysis of results from…
Hologic, Inc. announced that it will provide all mammography systems for the Dutch Breast Cancer Screening Program in partnership with Tromp Medical, Hologic’s distributor in the Netherlands. Under the tender, Hologic’s new, state-of-the-art 3Dimensions mammography systems will be installed in mobile and stationary screening facilities across the country, starting in 2018. The multi-year…
A controversy regarding the benefit of early screening programmes for breast cancer continues. Germany, Austria and Switzerland have developed individual strategies. European Hospital asked three experts from these countries to outline each chosen system. Markus Hahn MD, senior consultant at the University Breast Centre in Tübingen, Martin Daniaux, MD, Head of Breast Diagnostics at the Breast…
Breast diagnostics are undergoing considerable change, with new technology facilitating alternative procedures. Genetics and nuclear medicine also enhance diagnostic possibilities. During our EH interview, Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland described current changes in breast diagnostics. ‘To date, complementary breast diagnostics has comprised clinical, sonographic and mammographic…
‘Clinicians across Europe have made clear their desire for breast cancer screening technology that offers improved accuracy, clarity and workflow, and the 3Dimensions system addresses each of those specific areas,’ Hologic’s Jan Verstreken, Regional President for EMEA and Canada, pointed out during the launch of the new system. This is the latest in the firm’s breast cancer screening,…