LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Cancer: Breast Cancer
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Cancer screenings, such as mammography and breast examination for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colon cancer, may help catch these cancers at their early, most treatable stages. Some people at high risk for developing certain cancers can take medication to reduce their risk.
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Looking deep inside the genes of malignant cells, two teams of leukemia researchers have uncovered new ways to help identify the severity of a patient's cancer, the best treatments and how long a patient might live. The studies, carried out by teams at Stanford University and in Europe, rely on a detailed analysis of cancer genes to understand how a malignancy is likely to progress and how best to fight it. While this type of gene analysis isn't being used on leukemia patients yet, doctors say it probably will play an important role in treating the most common form of adult leukemia. More broadly, the findings, published in New England Journal of Medicine, mark another important step for the use of gene analysis in fighting cancer. This field of research is shedding light on the disease's basic wiring, uncovering whether some cancer cells are more lethal from the start. Such genetic predictors have previously been teased out of lymph, breast and prostate cancers. By screening gene activity at a very detailed level, researchers have found they can sometimes look at different tumors from the same type of cancer and tell how each will progress.
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Genomic Health, Inc. is a life science company focused on the development and commercialization of genomic-based clinical diagnostic tests for cancer that allow physicians and patients to make individualized treatment decisions. In 2004, Genomic Health launched its first test, Oncotype DX(TM), which has been shown to predict the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence and chemotherapy benefit in early stage breast cancer patients. The company was founded in 2000 and is located in Redwood City, California. For more information, please visit www.genomichealth.com.
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Under Moddelmog's leadership, Komen last year embarked on its 25-city Komen Community Challenge, an educational tour designed to help select U.S. communities close existing gaps in breast cancer and breast health services for the medically uninsured and underserved. The organization published the first-ever State of Breast Cancer report, which has helped people appreciate the advances that have been made in diagnosing and treating breast cancer while understanding the extent of healthcare disparities that keep the latest treatments as well as basic health care out of the reach of millions. In recognition of the tremendous toll breast cancer takes on African Americans in the United States, Circle of Promise, a campaign to engage African Americans with Komen in the fight against breast cancer was launched last fall.
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As described at the symposium, from the initial study of 21 patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer, 16 patients were evaluated for final results. It was concluded that four of the 16 patients had stable disease for greater than 90 days and three of the 16 had stable disease that lasted more than 180 days. Five patients in the trial had objective tumor regression. All 16 patients demonstrated little to no side effects from the drug.
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Treatment with a shark cartilage product does not prolong life in patients with advanced cancer, nor does it improve quality of life. Shark cartilage has become a popular alternative medicine for people with advanced cancer. Its use is based on the belief that the reason sharks rarely develop cancer is because of their high cartilage content. Previous reports examining the benefits of shark cartilage as an anti-cancer therapy... have yielded mixed results. In one of the few randomized trials to evaluate this treatment, Dr. Charles L. Loprinzi, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues compared the outcomes of 89 patients with incurable breast or colon cancer who were treated with shark cartilage or placebo in addition to standard care and treatment with chemotherapy if appropriate. The shark cartilage and placebo were supplied as a powder, mixed with water or juice, and consumed three to four times per day.
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Breast Cancer