Daily Women's Health Policy Report Summarizes Latest Breast Cancer News

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Article Date: 06 Jan 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The following summarizes recent news coverage related to breast cancer.

~ Genetic testing: NPR's "All Things Considered" on Wednesday profiled members of a family as they decided whether to undergo genetic testing for mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are strongly linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. According to Beth Peshkin, a genetic counselor at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University, the genetic test can be helpful to families who have a history of ovarian and breast cancer that spans several generations. According to "All Things Considered," as "more healthy people from healthy families see[k] testing than ever before, the results coming back are often much harder to interpret." Peshkin said, "Today, maybe half the people seeking BRCA testing get back results that are uninformative for one reason or another" (Franklin, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/31/08).

~ Insulin: Higher than normal insulin levels are an independent risk factor for breast cancer for postmenopausal women who use hormone therapy, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Reuters Health reports. Researchers led by Marc Gunter of Albert Einstein College of Medicine studied data from the Women's Health Observational Study on non-diabetic, postmenopausal women, 835 of whom later developed breast cancer and 816 of whom did not. The researchers reported that women with the highest levels of insulin had a 46% greater risk for breast cancer than women with the lowest levels. The association between insulin and breast cancer risk varied depending on whether women underwent hormone therapy. Among women who did not use hormones, those who were considered obese had a two-fold greater risk for breast cancer than women of normal weight (Reuters Health, 12/30/08).

~ Lymphedema: Hospitals in about a dozen states are researching whether simple steps, such as arm-strengthening exercises, could help alleviate lymphedema -- a build up of lymph fluid that can lead to painful swelling of the arms and is a common side effect of breast cancer surgery, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports. Lymphedema can develop up to 20 years after breast cancer treatment and is estimated to affect about 20% to 30% of patients who have 10 or more under-the-arm lymph nodes examined, a procedure known as axillary lymph node dissection. A team led by Electra Pasketts, an Ohio State University epidemiologist, is examining whether steps such as special weight-lifting exercises or wearing elastic sleeves during airplane flights, heavy lifting or certain other events can alleviate lymphedema (Neergaard, AP/Arizona Daily Star, 12/30/08).

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