Breast Cancer

Quantifying heterogeneity in breast cancer

A variety of mutations may give rise to breast cancer, but scientists generally assume that it starts off with just a few. That's because later-stage breast cancers tend to have more mutations—they are more heterogeneous—than ...

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Excess estrogen in pregnancy can silence BRCA1 in daughters, increasing breast cancer risk

Excess estrogen levels during pregnancy can disable, in their daughters, a powerful breast cancer tumor suppressor gene, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. They found the DNA repair gene BRCA1 ...

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Researchers identify critical metabolic alterations in triple-negative breast cancer cells

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified a host of small molecules critical to metabolism in cells of triple-negative breast cancer—one of the least understood groups of breast cancer. These molecules, called ...

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25 percent don't complete recommended breast cancer treatment

One-quarter of women who should take hormone-blocking therapies as part of their breast cancer treatment either do not start or do not complete the five-year course, according to a new study led by University of Michigan ...

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Six2 homeoprotein allows breast cancer cells to detach and metastasize

In results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center show that the Six2 homeoprotein, while not involved in primary tumor growth, allows cells to detach from substrate ...

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Omega-3 fatty acids more effective at inhibiting growth of triple-negative breast cancer

Researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that omega-3 fatty acids and their metabolite products slow or stop the proliferation, or growth in the number of cells, of triple-negative breast cancer cells more effectively ...

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Patients with BRCA1 mutations, but not BRCA2 mutations, had poorer prognosis compared with noncarriers

Patients with breast cancer who had a BRCA1 mutation had significantly worse overall and recurrence-free survival rates compared with patients without BRCA mutations, but no evidence for a difference in survival was found ...

Cancer created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Plastic chemical may expose foetuses to cancer (Update)

France said Tuesday it would call for Europe-wide controls on a paper product containing bisphenol A after a watchdog agency said the widely-used chemical may expose unborn children to breast cancer later in life.

Health created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Heart surgery increases death risk for cancer survivors who had radiation

Cancer survivors who had chest radiation are nearly twice as likely to die in the years after having major heart surgery as similar patients who didn't have radiation, according to research in the American Heart Association ...

Cardiology created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Alcohol consumption has no impact on breast cancer survival

Although previous research has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of developing breast cancer, a new study has found that drinking before and after diagnosis does not impact survival from the disease. In fact, ...

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Certain breast cancer patients may benefit from combined HER2 targeted therapy without chemotherapy

Is the era of targeted therapy for breast cancer at hand? It could be, said experts at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine – at least for a certain population of women.

Cancer created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protein's well-known cousin sheds light on its gout-linked relative

Johns Hopkins scientists have found out how a gout-linked genetic mutation contributes to the disease: by causing a breakdown in a cellular pump that clears an acidic waste product from the bloodstream. By comparing this ...

Medical research created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

High-risk screening and high rate of follow up—patient navigators credited

Low-income and minority women screened for breast cancer at Capital Breast Cancer Center (CBCC) in Washington, DC, exceed national standards in their rate of medical follow-up after a positive mammogram, according to a small ...

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Exploring lincRNA's role in breast cancer

Once considered part of the "junk" of our genome, much of the DNA between protein-coding genes is now known to be transcribed. New findings by scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified several dozen transcripts ...

Cancer created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nearly half of breast cancer patients at risk of having BRCA mutations not sent for genetic testing

Only 53 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients who were at high risk of carrying a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 mutation – based on age, diagnosis, and family history of breast or ovarian cancer – reported that their doctors ...

Cancer created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Breast cancer (malignant breast neoplasm) is a type of cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas. Breast cancer is a disease of humans and other mammals; while the overwhelming majority of cases in humans are women, men can sometimes also develop breast cancer.

The size, stage, rate of growth, and other characteristics of the tumor determine the kinds of treatment. Treatment may include surgery, drugs (hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), radiation and/or immunotherapy. Surgical removal of the tumor provides the single largest benefit, with surgery alone being capable of producing a cure in many cases. To somewhat increase the likelihood of long-term disease-free survival, several chemotherapy regimens are commonly given in addition to surgery. Most forms of chemotherapy kill cells that are dividing rapidly anywhere in the body, and as a result cause temporary hair loss and digestive disturbances. Radiation is indicated especially after breast conserving surgery and substantially improves local relapse rates and in many circumstances also overall survival. Some breast cancers are sensitive to hormones such as estrogen and/or progesterone, which makes it possible to treat them by blocking the effects of these hormones.

Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 22.9% of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) in women. In 2008, breast cancer caused 458,503 deaths worldwide (13.7% of cancer deaths in women). Breast cancer is more than 100 times more common in women than breast cancer in men, although males tend to have poorer outcomes due to delays in diagnosis.

Prognosis and survival rate varies greatly depending on cancer type, staging and treatment. However, survival rates across the world are generally good. Overall more than 8 out of 10 women (84%) in England that are diagnosed with the disease survive it for at least 5 years.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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