Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Breast Cancer News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/breast_cancer/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171750.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171750.php A team of scientists from the US and the UK have shown that blocking an enzyme called lysyl oxidase (LOX) that causes tissue to stiffen reduces the likelihood of abnormal but non-malignant breast tissue turning into tumors, suggesting that LOX and similar enzymes could be new targets for effective anti-cancer drug therapies. Breast Cancer Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171628.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171628.php Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces regarding an amendment sponsored by Reps. Bart Stupak's (D-Mich.) and Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) to the House health care reform bill (HR 3962) that would prohibit abortion coverage in private and public health plans that receive federal subsidies. Summaries appear below. Abortion Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171645.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171645.php Insurance companies say mammogram coverage is unlikely to change despite the debate over the effectiveness of breast cancer screenings for women in their forties. Breast Cancer Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171623.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171623.php HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday said that federal health insurance programs will not alter their mammogram coverage policies following new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the New York Times reports. The guidelines, Breast Cancer Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171616.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171616.php Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging/Molecular Breast Imaging (BSGI/MBI) has been recognized and endorsed by two highly esteemed organizations for the fight against breast cancer: The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and the American College of Surgeons. Both societies published articles supporting the further application of this breakthrough imaging technology for the early detection of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171521.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171521.php HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the following statement today on new breast cancer screening recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: "There is no question that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations have caused a great deal of confusion and worry among women and their families across this country. I want to address that confusion head on. The U.S. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171475.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171475.php One day after the release of new breast cancer screening guidelines, many physicians and some medical groups are saying that they do not plan to adopt the new recommendations -- which represent a drastic change -- the New York Times reports (Belluck, New York Times, 11/18). The guidelines, released by the U.S. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171570.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171570.php Individualised radiotherapy treatment based on a person's genetic make up could soon become a reality, according to Breast Cancer Campaign. Professor Kevin Prise from Queen's University Belfast has been awarded a three year project grant by the charity to study how genes are involved in the effectiveness of radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The grant, worth more than £160,000, is part of £2 million awarded to 20 projects in the UK and Ireland. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171502.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171502.php Newspapers across the country featured front-page follow-up stories on new mammogram recommendations today.The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- "which recommended that women in their 40s should no longer get annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer -- sparked an outcry from those who say that the federal government is more interested in saving money than in improving women's health, even though the panel did not consider costs in its analysis," the Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171451.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171451.php A radiation breakthrough to treat breast cancer patients in one day, as opposed to the current average of six weeks, has arrived at Cancer Treatment Centers of America(R) (CTCA) in Philadelphia. CTCA will become the first in the country to offer this treatment option using the Novac7 technology from Rome, Italy. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171440.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171440.php The public may have problems this week sorting through news articles about a government task force's opposition to routine mammograms for women under 50 and articles about breast cancer survivors touting the benefits of early mammograms. But to properly interpret the news, the public must learn to balance the research with the anecdotal evidence says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor of English Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D. Breast Cancer Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171468.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171468.php US secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a statement saying that the government policy on what age routine screening mammograms should begin has not changed, following a recent task force recommendation that routine screening mammograms should start at age 50 and not age 40. Preventive Medicine Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171385.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171385.php Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world's leading breast cancer advocacy organization, has carefully reviewed the data and new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concerning mammography screening. Komen for the Cure issued the following statement today from Eric P. Winer, M.D., chief scientific advisor and chair of Komen's Scientific Advisory Board. "Susan G. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171334.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171334.php The Washington Post: "Women in their 40s should stop routinely having annual mammograms and older women should cut back to one scheduled exam every other year, an influential federal task force has concluded, challenging the use of one of the most common medical tests" (Stein, 11/17). The Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171310.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171310.php Most women should begin routine mammograms to screen for breast cancer at age 50, not 40 as previously recommended, according to new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that aim to reduce harm from overtreatment, the New York Times reports. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171340.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171340.php In an update to its 2002 recommendations, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends against routine breast cancer screening for women under the age of 50. Women between the ages of 40 and 49 at high risk for breast cancer should talk to their doctor about the best time to start regular, biennial screening mammography. These recommendations appear in the November 17 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171263.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171263.php The Executive Committee of the American Society of Breast Disease issued the following response to changes in breast cancer screening recommendations issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force on November 16, 2009. The new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's recommendations on screening mammography, clinical breast exam, and self-examination conflict with the facts. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171273.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171273.php A powerful new breast cancer treatment could result from packaging one of the newer drugs that inhibits cancer's hallmark wild growth with another that blocks a primordial survival technique in which the cancer cell eats part of itself, researchers say. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171242.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171242.php Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYTX) completed enrollment in a 70-patient, international breast cancer reconstruction study, RESTORE 2. The study is evaluating the use of cell-enriched fat grafting to restore functional and cosmetic deformities in women who have undergone partial mastectomy for early breast cancer. Interim data on the first 32 patients who have reached the six-month follow-up will be presented as a poster at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium December 12, 2009 at 7 a.m. U. Breast Cancer Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171247.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171247.php If cost-cutting U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) mammography recommendations are adopted as policy, two decades of decline in breast cancer mortality could be reversed and countless American women may die needlessly from breast cancer each year. Breast Cancer Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171199.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171199.php NCI appreciates the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's careful review and analysis of the evidence regarding breast cancer screening for women at average risk. The take-away message is that each woman needs to consider her individual benefits and risks and discuss them with her health care provider before making a decision on when to start screening mammography and how often to get one. Breast Cancer Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171181.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171181.php Following is a statement by Constance Lehman, M.D., PhD, medical director of radiology and director of breast imaging, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; and professor and vice chair of radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine. The statement is in response to new breast cancer mammography screening guideline recommendations announced today by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Radiology / Nuclear Medicine Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171217.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171217.php Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), today announced that the company submitted two supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Avastin® (bevacizumab) for the treatment of women who have not received chemotherapy for advanced (metastatic) HER2-negative breast cancer (first-line treatment). Breast Cancer Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171189.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171189.php A comprehensive analysis of various mammography screening schedules suggests that biennial (every two years) screening of average risk women between the ages of 50 and 74 achieves most of the benefits of annual screening, but with less harm. The results represent a unanimous consensus of six independent research groups from various academic institutions. Their findings are published in the November 17, 2009 Annals of Internal Medicine. Breast Cancer Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171120.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171120.php An independent medical expert panel that advises the US federal government on preventive and primary healthcare recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years and suggests instead that the decision to start regular screening before the age of 50 should be an individual one. Preventive Medicine