Breast cancer news

[bombflower]

I was visiting http://www.healthday.com/ and found some news on the breast cancer front and thought I would share it with the other females here [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

New Breast Cancer Test May Predict Recurrence

A new genetic test could help doctors predict a woman's likelihood of recurring breast cancer and whether she should undergo chemotherapy, The New York Times reports.

The test, described at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, rates the activity levels of 21 genes in a sample of a breast tumor to produce a "recurrence score." In trials funded by the Silicon Valley biotech firm that developed the test, 6.8 percent of women with a low recurrence score had a relapse in the 10 years after the original tumor was removed, while 30.5 percent of those with a high score had a recurrence.

While the test appears far from accurate, experts say, it could save some women from undergoing the often-debilitating effects of chemotherapy. Cancer recurs in about 15 percent of cases where the original tumor is removed and a woman is placed on the standard tumor-inhibiting treatment -- tamoxifen, the newspaper reports. But many of these women get chemotherapy as a precaution, anyway.

The test, produced by Genomic Health of Redwood City, Calif., could offer a better way for doctors to predict a recurrence, its developers say. Currently, physicians base their predictions on factors like the patient's age and size, and the tumor's aggressiveness.

The test, likely to be available early next year, is expected to cost $3,000 or more, the Times reports.

<font color="orange"> AND </font>

Experimental Breast Cancer Drug Shows Promise

An experimental new cancer drug called Abraxane is significantly more effective than standard therapies and doesn't produce many of the serious side effects, researchers report.

Abraxane is a form of paclitaxel, the generic name for Taxol, which is used to treat various forms of cancer. In a trial of 460 women with breast cancer that had spread to other parts of their bodies, tumors were reduced by 33 percent or showed slower growth in those who received Abraxane, compared with 19 percent of the patients given Taxol, The New York Times reports.

The findings were presented Friday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"I think this drug really has a significant potential to benefit women with breast cancer," Dr. Edith A. Perez, director of the breast cancer program at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., told the newspaper. "I think it's a major breakthrough," added Perez, who was not involved in the clinical trial.

Abraxane is being developed by American Pharmaceutical Partners.

[Syddles]

Wow, that is really interesting and uplifting. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I really admire all of the surviving women. They're so strong.

[biggmac]

Props to bombflower for bringing this news to other women... my sister is a survivor of breast cancer and i love seeing information being passed onto those who need to know... thanks again bombflower

[bombflower]

You're welcome big [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[rov86]

It is indeed quite amazing the findings and advancements in technology that occur as time goes by. Scientists are working non-stop it seems to keep improving people's lives. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Eventually cures will be found for most of the common diseases that occur today I am sure, unfortunately many more will come about or be discovered. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] But hopefully they won't be as many as we have today. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]