Breaking Research News from Breastcancer.org

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Changing Order in Which Mammograms Get Second Reading Doesn't Improve Detection Rates
May 18, 2016
The accuracy of mammogram readings doesn't go down over time and changing the order of a second reading doesn't improve accuracy.Read more...

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Two Years of Tamoxifen After Surgery Offers Long-Term Survival Benefits
May 21, 2016
Taking tamoxifen for 2 years after surgery offers long-term survival benefits for premenopausal women diagnosed with early-stage, estrogen-receptor-positive disease compared to no treatment after surgery. Read more...

Jelson

with regards to the two years on tamoxifen study - something is not quite right with your summary. more people in the no tamoxifen group died than were in the group. I found the study results difficult to understand but don't see how this could be a result!! I added the women in the tamoxifen group who died from bc to the number who died from other causes and got 254 - and compared that to the 276 women in the study, horrifying if you ask me but possible, when I did the same with the women who got no hormonal therapy - I got 317 - which is more than the 288 women who had no hormonal therapy in the study.

• 2 years of tamoxifen (276 women)
• no hormonal therapy (288 women)

One woman in the tamoxifen group and six women in the no hormonal therapy group were treated with chemotherapy.

The women were diagnosed between 1984 and 1991. The women ranged in age from 25 to 58. The women were followed for about 26 years.

During the follow-up period, more women died from other causes than died from breast cancer:

• tamoxifen group: 117 women died from breast cancer; 142 women died from other causes
• no hormonal therapy group: 145 women died from breast cancer; 172 women died from other causes

Moderators

Jelson, thank you for your input! The article has been edited now.

MsBrompton

Very interesting study but reads as ancient history since nobody was tested for HER status! Surely these days those with HER+ would get chemo + herceptin?

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Black Women Less Likely to Have Genetic Testing Than White Women, but Not Because They See Different Doctors
May 24, 2016
Many oncologists and surgeons are less likely to recommend genetic testing to black women. Read more...

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Black Women With Advanced-Stage Disease Less Likely to Get Certain Supportive Care Medicines Than White Women
May 26, 2016
Research suggests that black women diagnosed with stage IV disease are less likely to receive antidepressants and sleep aids than white women. Read more...

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Medical Errors Are Third Cause of Deaths in United States
May 26, 2016
Medical errors should be listed as the third leading cause of death in the United States, researchers say. Read more...

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Women Who Use Complementary Medicine Techniques May Be Less Likely to Start Chemotherapy
May 26, 2016
Women diagnosed with early-stage disease were less likely to start prescribed chemotherapy if they used complementary medicine techniques. Read more...

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Immune System-Suppressing Medicines Don't Seem to Increase Recurrence Risk
June 1, 2016
Women who had been treated for breast cancer who were later treated with methotrexate or anti-tumor necrosis factor medicines for rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease didn't have a higher risk of recurrence than women who didn't take the medicines. Read more...

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Exercise Reduces Risk of Heart Disease in Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
June 4, 2016
Women diagnosed with early-stage disease are less likely to have heart problems if they exercise regularly. Read more...

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10 Years of Femara Better Than 5 for Early-Stage, Hormone-Receptor-Positive Disease
June 16, 2016
Ten years of Femara offers more benefits than 5 years. Read more...

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Herceptin Biosimilar Seems as Safe and Effective as Herceptin
June 17, 2016
A study suggests that a drug that is a biosimilar to Herceptin, called Myl-1401O, is as effective and as safe as Herceptin. Read more...

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Anthracycline Chemo Regimen Seems Better Than Regimen Without Anthracycline for Early-Stage, HER2-Negative, High-Risk Disease
June 20, 2016
Interim results from an analysis of several studies suggest that chemotherapy regimens that include an anthracycline may be better than a regimen that doesn't include an anthracycline for women diagnosed with early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence. Read more...

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Not Taking Hormonal Therapy as Prescribed Leads to More Recurrence
June 23, 2016
Postmenopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive disease are 35% to 61% more likely to have breast cancer come back if they don't take hormonal therapy as prescribed. Read more...

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Oncotype DX Recurrence Score Helps Predict Risk of Late Distant Recurrence
June 23, 2016
Research suggests the Oncotype DX recurrence score can help predict the risk of late distant recurrence in women diagnosed with stage I or stage II estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer that highly expresses gene ESR1. Read more...

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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program Improves Quality of Life for Diagnosed Women
June 28, 2016
A small study found that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer program improved the physical and emotional health of women who had been treated for early-stage disease. Read more...

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Women Who Don't Take Medicine for Other Chronic Conditions Less Likely to Finish Hormonal Therapy
June 30, 2016
Research suggests that women who don't follow their medicine schedules for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes before being diagnosed with breast cancer are twice as likely to stop taking hormonal therapy early. Read more...

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Phase III Results Support Accelerated Approval for Ibrance
June 30, 2016
Results from the phase III PALOMA-2 trial confirm earlier phase II results and strongly support the FDA's accelerated approval of Ibrance. Read more...

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Exercise, Maintaining Healthy Weight May Help Reduce Risk of Neuropathy Caused by Chemotherapy
June 30, 2016
Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising 5 or more hours per week may help reduce the risk of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Read more...

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BRCA1 Mutation Linked to Higher Risk of Specific Type of Uterine Cancer
July 5, 2016
A study strongly suggests that women with a BRCA1 mutation have a slightly higher risk of an uncommon but aggressive type of uterine cancer. Read more...

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Study Suggests Shorter Radiation Course Better for Many Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
July 5, 2016
Hypofractionated whole-breast radiation offered the same cosmetic outcomes and slightly better functional outcomes than a conventional regimen. Read more...

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Smoking Seems to Make Aromatase Inhibitors Less Effective
July 7, 2016
A study suggests that smoking makes a class of hormonal therapy medicines, the aromatase inhibitors, much less effective. Read more...

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Mindfulness-Based Therapy Helps Ease Pain After Breast Cancer Treatment
July 8, 2016
A small study has found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help ease the pain that many women continue to have months and years after breast cancer treatment is completed. Read more...

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Age, History of Diabetes Seem to Increase Neuropathy Risk
July 19, 2016
A study suggests that being older and having a history of diabetes may increase the risk of neuropathy in people treated with taxane chemotherapy. Read more...

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Dutch Study Shows IVF Doesn't Increase Breast Cancer Risk
July 20, 2016
A large Dutch study strongly suggests that in vitro fertilization (IVF), a type of fertility treatment, doesn't appear to increase breast cancer risk, even years after the fertility treatment. Read more...

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Telephone Genetic Counseling Just As Good As Face-to-Face Counseling
July 21, 2016
A study has found that genetic counseling over the phone is equal to in-person genetic counseling for women at high risk for a genetic mutation that would raise their risk of breast or ovarian cancer. Read more...

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ASCO Issues Guidelines on Hormonal Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer
July 22, 2016
The American Society of Clinical Oncology has put out new hormonal therapy treatment guidelines for women diagnosed with metastatic hormone-receptor-positive disease. Read more...

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Acupressure Reduces Fatigue in Diagnosed Women
July 27, 2016
A small study has found that acupressure can help relieve long-term fatigue in women who've been treated for breast cancer. Read more...

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Exercise Eases Memory Problems in Women Treated for Breast Cancer
July 28, 2016
Women treated for breast cancer who did more moderate-to-vigorous exercise reported fewer memory problems. Read more...