http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In the largest clinical trial to date to examine the efficacy of PARP inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. Results of the study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, will be presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago in early June (Abstract #11024). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-parp-inhibitor-pancreatic-prostate-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 15 May 2013 18:00:01 EST news287856979 Actress Angelina Jolie has today written an op-ed in the New York Times explaining that she has opted to have a double mastectomy because she carries the hereditary BRCA1 gene, which she says increases her risk of breast cancer by 87%. Her mother died from cancer after a ten-year struggle at the age of 56. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brca1.html Cancer Wed, 15 May 2013 09:30:05 EST news287827418 Researchers of the hereditary cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) conducted a functional and structural study of seven missense variants of the BRCA1 gene concluding that three of these variants are pathogenic, linked to the risk of suffering breast or ovarian cancer. The study has been published in the journal PLoS One http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mutations-brca1-gene-responsible-breast.html Cancer Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:11:46 EST news285509490 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 between patients with BRCA2 mutations and those without a BRCA mutation, according to data from a large Dutch study presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-patients-brca1-mutations-brca2-poorer.html Cancer Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:00:01 EST news284710874 Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have identified new DNA sequences associated with breast cancer—the most common cancer among women, with an average risk of developing the disease of 10 percent—and ovarian cancer, the most common cause of death from gynecological cancers in the U.S. The findings, which appear in three studies in the journals Plos Genetics and Nature Genetics, will help reveal the underlying causes of these diseases and help researchers build better risk models to support new prevention strategies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-dna-sequences-hone-breast-ovarian.html Cancer Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:12:55 EST news283605161 Chemotherapy given straight into the abdomen of certain ovarian cancer patients could allow them to live an extra three years on average, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-chemo-abdomen-boost-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:20:01 EST news281781839 (HealthDay)—Although women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who carry a BRCA gene mutation have a short-term survival advantage, this benefit is not reflected in the long-term, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-gene-mutation-benefit-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:40:02 EST news280552931 A 23andMe study of consumers' reactions to genetic testing found that even when the tests revealed high-risk mutations in individuals, those individuals had few negative reactions to the news. Instead of inducing serious anxiety, the test results prompted people to take positive steps, including follow-up visits with a doctor and discussions with family members who could also be at risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-consumers-negative-reactions-results-genetic.html Cancer Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:20:10 EST news279875934 (Medical Xpress)—A protein associated with conditions of metabolic imbalance, such as diabetes and obesity, may play a role in the development of aggressive forms of breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their colleagues. Metabolic imbalance is often caused by elevated carbohydrate intake, which can lead to over-activating a molecule called C-terminal binding protein (CtBP). This over-activation, in turn, can increase the risk of breast cancer. Results of their work appeared in Nature Communications, Feb. 5, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-molecular-link-metabolism-breast.html Cancer Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:35:34 EST news279362125 Women with harmful mutations in the BRCA gene, which put them at higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, tend to undergo menopause significantly sooner than other women, allowing them an even briefer reproductive window and possibly a higher risk of infertility, according to a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-early-menopause-women-brca-gene.html Cancer Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:20:01 EST news278613483 A new multiple gene expression profile test was able to predict the presence of harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations in otherwise healthy women carrying the mutations, according to data published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-presence-brca-mutations.html Cancer Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:00:01 EST news278073437 Our DNA, which stores our genetic information, is constantly exposed to damage. If not properly repaired, DNA damage can lead to cell death. This, in turn, can lead to tissue exhaustion and ageing, or induce mutations resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancer. Brca1 is a key gene that mediates DNA repair, and mutations in Brca1 lead to familial and sporadic breast and ovarian cancer in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-uncover-role-brca1-survival-skin.html Cancer Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:59:49 EST news276422333 (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London, have found that rare mutations in a gene called PPM1D are linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The mutations are not inherited, and the discovery potentially reveals a new mechanism of cancer development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-gene-linked-breast-ovarian.html Cancer Mon, 17 Dec 2012 08:03:20 EST news274953791 A new study by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers reveals how a well-known tumor suppressor gene may be functioning to stop cancer cell growth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-uncovers-mechanism-brca1-suppress-tumors.html Cancer Mon, 17 Dec 2012 06:00:01 EST news274903771 About 70 percent of women who have both breasts removed following a breast cancer diagnosis do so despite a very low risk of facing cancer in the healthy breast, new research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-women-mastectomy-dont.html Cancer Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:34:27 EST news273263597 New understanding of how drugs called PARP inhibitors, which have already shown promise for the treatment of women with familial breast and ovarian cancers linked to BRCA mutations, exert their anticancer effects has led to the identification of ways in which the patient population that might benefit from PARP inhibitors could be expanded. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mechanism-action-parp-inhibitors.html Cancer Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:29:43 EST news271682973 In response to the on-line publication by the European Journal of Human Genetics today (Wednesday) of an article by US researchers led by Dr. Robert Cook-Degan, a former member of the US Office of Technology Assessment, showing that Myriad Genetics, providers of the BRCA1/2 genetic test in the US, has amassed vast quantities of clinical data without sharing it, Professor Martina Cornel, chair of the European Society of Human Genetics' Professional and Public Policy committee, said: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-privately-genetic-databases-hinder-diagnosis.html Genetics Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:37:19 EST news270923832 (Medical Xpress)—A study authored by Rebekah Hamilton, RN, PhD, associate dean of the Rush University College of Nursing, found that young women with a BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation felt different and misunderstood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-reveals-young-women-brca-mutation.html Cancer Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:41:02 EST news267867653 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers conducting a study of gene mutations that increase a woman's likelihood of breast and ovarian cancers have made a discovery that could open doors to less expensive and more accessible breast and ovarian cancer screening. Additionally, the surprising study results may also explain how human embryos with these breast cancer mutations survive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-gene-mutation-results-expensive-accessible.html Cancer Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:47:09 EST news267090369 Women carrying a mutation in the BRCA1- or BRCA2- genes (which control the suppression of breast and ovarian cancer) who have undergone diagnostic radiation to the chest before the age of 30 are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who carry the gene mutation but who have not been exposed, a study published in the British Medical Journal today reveals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-diagnostic-chest-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:30:02 EST news266166243 Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible and established, with good success rates for those treated, according to investigators from the reproduction, oncology and genetics centres of the university hospitals of Maastricht and Brussels. The results follow a review of the largest number of PGD treatments for BRCA1/2 in Europe and were presented today at the annual meeting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) by Professor Willem Verpoest from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hereditary-breast-ovarian-cancer-pgd.html Cancer Mon, 02 Jul 2012 04:10:27 EST news260421020 (HealthDay) -- Girls who receive radiation to the chest to treat childhood cancer, even those getting lower doses, have a high risk of developing breast cancer at a young age, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-chest-girls-greater-early-breast.html Cancer Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:12:21 EST news258019931 The infamous BRCA genes do not act alone in causing cancer; there is a molecular syndicate at work preventing the way cells normally repair breaks in DNA that is at the root of breast cancer. But finding all of the BRCA molecular collaborators has been elusive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-member-breast-cancer-gene-network.html Cancer Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:01 EST news249136869 (Medical Xpress) -- Leading breast cancer experts are calling for women under 50 who are diagnosed with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer to be offered testing for faults in the BRCA1 gene, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-hundreds-breast-cancer-patients-brca1.html Cancer Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:10:02 EST news248517252 St. Michael's Hospital and King Saud University have received their first joint U.S. patent to use the BRCA1 gene as a therapy for cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-joint-patent-brca1-gene-therapy.html Genetics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:24:46 EST news248091866 Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-grape-seed-neck-cancer-cells.html Cancer Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:39:06 EST news246879534 Women who are at risk for breast cancer may also be at greater risk for heart disease, new research has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-breast-cancer-heart-disease-common.html Genetics Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:56:08 EST news243611753 Breast cancer survivors who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation are at high risk for developing contralateral breast cancer — a new primary tumor in the other breast — and certain women within this group of carriers are at an even greater risk based on age at diagnosis and first tumor status, according to data presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cancer-breast-survivors-brca-mutation.html Cancer Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:54:55 EST news242574888 Women with high-grade ovarian cancer live longer and respond better to platinum-based chemotherapy when their tumors have BRCA2 genetic mutations, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Institute for Systems Biology report in the Oct. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-ovarian-cancer-patients-survive-longer.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:48:50 EST news237570516 Among women with a certain type of high-grade ovarian cancer, having BRCA2 genetic mutations, but not BRCA1, was associated with improved overall survival and improved response to chemotherapy, compared to women with BRCA wild-type (genetic type used as a reference to compare genetic mutations), according to a study in the October 12 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-brca2-genetic-mutation-survival-chemotherapy.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:31:23 EST news237569476