Barcelona, Spain: Extensive surgery involving mastectomy and removal of several lymph nodes can be safely avoided for more women with some types of breast cancer, if they receive targeted drugs before surgery, according to research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. The study focused on women with HER2 positive breast cancer, an aggressive […]
March 2018
Many women with early breast cancer have a very low risk of a locoregional recurrence five years after surgery: latest results from MINDACT trial
Barcelona, Spain: Women with small, low grade, well-defined breast tumours and a genetic profile that shows they are at low risk of the cancer metastasising have only a 1.4% risk of the cancer returning to the site of the original tumour or the nearby lymph nodes (known as locoregional recurrence) within five years, according to […]
Chair of the European Breast Cancer Conference calls for men to be included in trials to find better treatments for breast cancer
Barcelona, Spain: Professor Robert Mansel, Chair of the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-11) and Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK, has called for men to be included in trials to improve treatments for breast cancer. Following new research presented by Professor Isabel Rubio [1] at EBCC-11 that showed that […]
Women report fewer adverse side effects from partial or reduced breast radiotherapy: new results from IMPORT LOW trial
Barcelona, Spain: The average number of moderate or marked side-effects reported by breast cancer patients is lower if they are treated with radiotherapy to part of the breast or a reduced dose to the whole breast, rather than with standard radiotherapy to the whole breast, according to new findings presented at the 11th European Breast […]
Women with breast symptoms are at higher risk of cancer diagnosis in between regular screening visits
Barcelona, Spain: Women who report symptoms such as lumps, nipple retraction or nipple discharge during their regular breast screening appointments, are at higher risk of developing breast cancer during the interval before their next visit in two or three years’ time as part of a national screening programme. In new research presented at the 11th […]
Average size of breast tumours decreased following introduction of screening but is now increasing again
Barcelona, Spain: The average size of breast cancers at diagnosis decreased dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s following the introduction of screening, according to research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. However, the new research also reveals a slight increase in the average size of breast tumours since 2001, perhaps as a result […]
Counting the cost: researchers create model to help life insurers calculate breast cancer survivors’ risk of death more accurately
Barcelona, Spain: As early detection and treatment of breast cancer improves, more and more women are surviving the disease. However, they still face challenges, which include determining the moment when it might be reasonable to state they are “cured” of the disease, and obtaining life insurance. “In the Netherlands, most applications for life insurance are […]
Lymph node surgery could be avoided for women with aggressive types of breast cancer that respond well to upfront chemotherapy
Barcelona, Spain: Sentinel lymph node biopsies, where lymph nodes are surgically removed to check for signs of breast cancer spread, could be safely avoided for some women, according to research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. Breast cancer becomes most dangerous when it begins to spread to other parts of the body and […]
Double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer reduces risk of dying from the disease in BRCA1 mutation carriers – but does not reduce further the already low risk in BRCA2 carriers
Barcelona, Spain: Healthy women who carry a breast cancer-causing mutation in the BRCA1 gene, not only reduce their risk of developing the disease but also their chances of dying from it if they have both breasts removed, according to new research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. However, the study also found that […]
Women with DCIS at lowest risk of recurrence if they are post-menopausal or have oestrogen receptor positive cancer
Barcelona, Spain: Patients with an early form of breast cancer are less likely to suffer a recurrence if they are post-menopausal or if their tumour is oestrogen receptor positive, according to research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. Although ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive form of breast cancer, it can […]