Cancer Research Lab

Cardiovascular adverse events are relatively rare in early breast cancer patients during adjuvant endocrine therapy using letrozole or tamoxifen, but the type of such events differs depending on the agent employed, according to findings from the Breast International Group 1-98 study.

“The overall incidence of cardiotoxicity was small and similar with the two agents,” lead investigator Dr. Henning Mouridsen told Reuters Health, “although there was a one percent increased risk of more severe cardiotoxicity with letrozole. Tamoxifen was associated with a two percent increased risk of thromboembolic disease.”

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Mutation causes chemical reaction; discovery could lead to new treatments

New York – Researchers say they’ve discovered a major reason why women who inherit a mutated version of the gene BRCA1 run a high risk of breast cancer — and that finding might aid the search for new treatments.

A second gene, called PTEN, plays a key role, scientists said in a study released Sunday.

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New gene test helps tell which patients can avoid the treatment, study says

SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of breast cancer patients each year could be spared chemotherapy or get gentler versions of it without harming their odds of beating the disease, new research suggests.

One study found that certain women did better — were less likely to die or have a relapse — if given a less harsh drug than Adriamycin, a mainstay of treatment for decades.

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But depression isn’t strongly linked to other types of cancer, review finds

NEW YORK – Depression appears to somewhat heighten the risk of breast cancer, but it has no significant association with lung, colon or prostate cancer, according to a review of the medical literature conducted by Dutch researchers.

“Depression is related to a slightly increased risk of cancer,” investigator Dr. Marjan van den Akker told Reuters Health. “The relation with breast cancer gets stronger with a longer follow-up period.”

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Famous Breast Cancer Survivors

Edie Falco
Sopranos star Edie Falco was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, and secretly battled it.

Melissa Etheridge
Diagnosed in 2004 with breast cancer, Etheridge is doing well.

Gloria Steinem
Activist Steinem discovered a lump in 1986.

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Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, aside from lung cancer. 1 in every 8 women are estimated to develop breast cancer in their lifetime. While there are certain risk factors like genetics we cannot change, there are many lifestyle changes we can make to aid in breast cancer prevention.

1. Pass on that last call for alcohol.
Studies have determined that women who drink alcoholic beverages develop cancer at a higher rate. How much is too much? Based on studies, ladies who consume 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1½ times the risk of women who don’t consume alcohol.

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We know you really don’t want to be here, reading about breast cancer recurrence or metastasis. If you’ve had breast cancer, the possibility of recurrence and spread (metastasis) of breast cancer stays with you. You may be here because you fear this possibility. Or you may be here because it’s already happened.

Keep in mind that a recurrence of breast cancer or metastatic (advanced) disease is NOT hopeless. Many women continue to live long, productive lives with breast cancer in this stage. It is also likely that your experience with treatment this time will be somewhat different from last time. There are so many options for your care and so many ways to chart your progress as you move through diagnosis, treatment, and beyond.

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Remember – ‘5 year survival’ and ‘10 year survival’ are terms doctors use. This doesn’t mean you will only live 5 or 10 years. 10 year survival relates to the proportion of people in research studies who were still alive 10 years after diagnosis. Doctors follow what happens to people for 10 years or more after treatment in breast cancer research studies. This is because there is only a small chance that a cancer will come back more than 10 years after treatment. They do not like to say these people are cured because there is that small chance. So they use the term ‘10 year survival’ instead.

Statistics can be very difficult to get. We’ve tried to show them so that they are easy to follow. But unfortunately, some are 5 year survival figures and some are 10 year survival figures. We’ve said which is which, so please do check which you are looking at.

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When breast cancer comes back, it may return in the same place. This is called a “recurrence,” because it is not a new cancer. But a recurrence can also appear in a place not directly related to the first breast cancer. This is called a “metastasis”, and if cancer is detected in several areas, these are called “metastases”. Find out more about treatments for metastatic (advanced) breast cancer. When breast cancer comes back, it tends to show up in specific areas of the body:

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If your symptoms or test results seem to indicate that the breast cancer has come back or spread, your doctor may suggest a biopsy of the suspected cancerous tissue. You may need a biopsy to:

• rule out other non-cancer causes of the problem,
• make a definite diagnosis of recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, and
• figure out the current “personality” of the cancer (including hormone receptor status and HER2 status) so your doctors will know how best to treat it.

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