Exercise may improve survival in breast cancer patients with Colon Cancer

(Tuesday, may 8, HealthDay News) - physical activity could prolong the life of people with breast and colon cancer, a new study suggests.

Exercise can also benefit patients with other cancers, but there is no substantial evidence to claim that, the researchers added.

"We have a lot of data that says physical activity after a diagnosis of cancer is generally safe and is associated with many improvements in the overall quality of life, and these data suggest that it may even be beneficial in terms of life," said principal investigator Dr. Rachel Ballard-Barbash, Director Deputy of the applied research program in the division of sciences of control and the population of the U.S. National Cancer cancer Institute.

"For many years, we tend to think of a diagnosis of cancer is fatal, but as we are diagnosis much more early people and receiving effective treatment, they live long with their cancer," she said.

Cancer becomes a chronic disease, Ballard-Barbash explained.

"Because of this, many people is actually at risk other chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension, and physical activity is well known to be beneficial for these conditions,", she added.

The report was published in the issue of May 8 of the journal of the National Cancer Institute.

For the study, Ballard-Barbash team analyzed 27 observational studies published between January 1950 and August 2011 who watched the cancer survival and physical activity.

The evidence of these benefits was higher for patients with breast cancer, where exercise significantly reduced mortality all-cause mortality, including breast cancer, the researchers found. Strong data exist also for the improvement of survival in patients with colon cancer.

Researchers also examined other randomized controlled studies that exercise have benefited from patients in various ways, including the improvement of insulin levels, reducing inflammation and possibly improve the immune system.

Dr. Edward Giovannucci, Professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and the author of a newspaper covering editorial, said that "even if the direct effects of physical activity are not definitively proven given that physical activity is generally safe, improves the quality of life of patients with cancer and has many other health benefits"adequate physical activity should be a standard part of cancer care. »

"The vast majority of cancer patients will probably be profit in some degree of physical activity," he added.

Some factors showed as much promise in extending the lives of cancer survivors, Giovannucci wrote.

"Many treatments can increase survival, but at a cost of quality of life; "physical activity is not only longer but also improves the quality of sound," he added.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian, nutritionist, physiologist exercise and coordinator of clinical nutrition at the Center for Cancer Care at the Hospital of Griffin, in Derby, Conn., said that "we have data indicate that physical activity improves not only the survival of people living with cancer, but it also reduces the risk of many other chronic diseases."

"Conversely, physical inactivity has been linked to several types of cancer, including breast, colon, prostate, pancreas and melanoma," she said.

Because some chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for cancer treatments, survivors may be an increased risk of additional cancers and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Heller said.

"So, a healthy way of life, including regular exercise and a healthy diet is essential for survivors to reduce the risk of recurrence of cancer and other diseases," she said.

Regular physical activity also improves the sleep, psychological and emotional well-being and helps manage stress, said Mr. Heller.

"The number of cancer survivors is, fortunately, the United States growth," she said. "We need to get the word out of them that the exercise, if it is walk, dance, run, swim or Hula hooping, will boost their health, the level of fitness and quality of life."

More information

For more information on exercise and cancer, visit the US National Cancer Institute.

SOURCES: Rachel Ballard-Barbash, M.D., Associate Director, program of applied research, control and the population of cancer sciences division, the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Edward l. Giovannucci, M.D., SCD, Professor of nutrition and epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D., dietitian, nutritionist, physiologist exercise and coordinator of clinical nutrition, Center for Cancer Care, Griffin hospital, Derby, Conn. ; 8 May 2012, Journal of the National Cancer Institute

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Many Patients of Cancer of the breast in their forties are not "at risk": study

(Thursday, 3 may HealthDay News) - more than half of women in their forties diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram had no family history of the disease, finds a new study that can add to the debate on the timing of cancer screening.

The researchers say their results point to the value of mammograms of annual screening for women 40 to 49. But others remain convinced.

History of the family usually means a parent first degree of disease (parent, brother or child). People without a family history with cancer of the breast, "64% of these women had invasive disease," said researcher Dr. Stamatia Destounis, a radiologist at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care Center and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Rochester in New York.

Destounis was to present its findings at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society in Vancouver on Thursday.

It is one of the many studies conducted to determine the ideal age for women to begin mammography screening and appropriate between projections intervals. In 2009, the controversial U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) triggered when it recommends that Screening Mammograms every two years for women aged 50 to 74, but not younger.

The USPSTF recommended 40 to 49 women at risk middle of breast cancer to discuss the advantages and disadvantages with their doctors and then determine the value of screening. This is because the Working Group found a small advantage for young women and a moderate injury, such as false positive results.

However, the American Cancer Society and other organizations continue to recommend annual screening from the age of 40.

Earlier this week, a review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes that in their forties, women who have a family history of breast cancer or extremely dense breasts should consider making a mammography every two years. The researchers said that the benefits of screening every two years outweigh the risk for these women.

In the new study, Destounis and his colleagues evaluated records of all mammograms performed at the 2000 to 2010 Imaging Centre. They focused on 373 women in their 40 diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram. Among them, 228 - or 61% - had no family history of the disease. Seventeen were excluded because of personal history of cancer or other status at risk.

211 Women remaining almost 64% had invasive disease, and 15% have cancer cells in the lymph nodes.

"This study reinforces the importance of mammography screening in the Group of 40 to 49 years without family history as a risk factor," concluded Destounis.

However, the President of the USPSTF said that the study does not prove that the cancers were detected by mammograms.

"The assumption is made that these women have done better because the cancers found by screening," said Dr. Virginia Moyer, also Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "The only way to know is to randomize [women] screening or not.". This would give a group of women for screening and the other no screening.

Those are the types of studies, the Working Group considered in the production of guidelines 2009, Moyer said. The USPSTF found a small benefit to women in their forties balanced by a moderate risk of harm, she said.

"Their shows only data they find invasive cancer, not that women benefited directly from mammography," said Moyer.

Data and the conclusions of research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a medical journal reviewed by peers.

More information

For more information on mammograms, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Stamatia Destounis, MD, radiologist, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care Center and Clinical Professor, University of Rochester, New York; American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting, April 29 - May 4, 2012, Vancouver, Canada; Virginia Moyer, M.D., M.P.H., President, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

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Mammograms are thermography for the detection of Breast Cancer: study

(Friday, 4 may HealthDay News) - thermography - a method for the detection of breast cancer considered by some as a substitute for mammography - is a non-reliable cancer, according to new research.

In a study of some 180 women, thermography missed about 50% of cancers and delivered too many false positives, said Dr. C.M. Guilfoyle, researcher at the hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Screening method uses software to measure and compare thermal anomalies in the breast and radiation without creating a breast "card" to find signs of developing breast cancer. The thinking is that the temperature is in the regions where the increase in blood flow, and which may indicate a tumor.

Researchers assessed the technique, marketed as the touching breast Scan, on the breasts of women undergoing biopsies after that they had dubious conclusions about other imaging examinations.

"I think that we always try to determine the role of thermography as a breast cancer screening tool," said Guilfoyle. Technology, it was often not able to differentiate between malignant and benign, injury she said.

Guilfoyle should present the findings Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society of surgery breast in Phoenix.

The test, as its name indicates, is no physical contact. It is available in the area of the city of New York and may extend to other locations earlier, said Barbara Zimmerly, a spokesman for the company.

It costs about $150, and it is not covered by insurance at this time. "The test is accurate, according to the latest study by 88 per cent," said Zimmerly.

Guilfoyle, however, has less precision in the assessment of women with abnormal radiological results between October 2009 and may 2011.

For the study, every woman has a thermography test before a tissue biopsy and Guilfoyle compared the results of pathology of the final tissue with the results of thermography. Each breast has been interpreted as positive or negative for cancer based on the results of thermography.

Healthy breast was also discussed with thermography. Two models of thermography analysis were used. A focus on the minimization of false negative results; the other focused on reducing anxiety-producing false positives.

Depending on what model of scanning was used, thermography missed, about half of all cancers or had an excessively high number of false positives from the reports of pathology on the abnormal breasts, according to the study.

The researchers also found that 47% of normal breast received a false positive reading on the analysis of thermography.

The role of thermography is always changing, said Dr. Kimberly Lovett, Southern California Permanente physician and a researcher at the University of California-San Diego Center for patient safety.

Lovett wrote about the dangers of ads online all thermography as the sole method for the detection of breast cancer.

"I would say women thermography continues to be studied, and hopefully, the technology will improve over time," said. "However, at this time, thermography should absolutely not be used as an alternative to mammography screening or as an alternative to biopsy of the breast in the presence of a positive screening."

If a woman has a suspicious lesion on a mammogram, the methods of monitoring should be an ultrasound or biopsy or both, says Lovett.

Mammography remains the gold standard for detecting breast cancer, says Lovett. The American Cancer Society agrees that thermography is not a substitute for mammography.

Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a medical journal reviewed by peers.

More information

For more information on breast imaging, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: C.M. Guilfoyle, M.D., investigator Bryn Mawr hospital, Bryn Mawr, Penn; Kimberly Lovett, M.D., researcher, Centre of San Diego for the safety of the patients, the University of California-San Diego. Barbara Zimmerly, spokesman without touching breast Scan; American Society of Surgeons of breast, annual meeting, from 2 to 6 may 2012, Phoenix

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Often more deadly male breast cancer, study suggests

(Friday, 4 may HealthDay News) - male breast Cancer is much less common that it is among women, but can be more deadly, suggests new research.

"Men with breast cancer do not and women with breast cancer, and there are opportunities for improvement," said study author Dr. Jon Greif, a San Francisco breast surgeon. "They were less likely to get the standard treatment that women menstruating.".

For men with cancer, in all, survival rates are lower than those of women, at least when found in the early stages, Greif diagnosis. Cancers differ in other respects.

Greif was to present his findings Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons in Phoenix.

Greif and his team of care, however, that some differences are not may wear in clinical practice.

A major limitation to research: the database, they drew guard trace which breast cancer patients die, but not what they are dead. It is therefore impossible to say that if they died of their cancer or something, he explained.

Although many men is not always aware they can get breast cancer, about 2 200 new cases of male breast cancer are expected this year, according to the American Cancer Society. The company believes 410 men will die of breast cancer in 2012 at the United States.

Greif compares to about 13,000 men with breast cancer identified from the national database of Cancer, more than 1.4 million women with the cancer. The data covered from 1998 to 2007.

Researchers evaluated characteristics of cancer and survival rates, age of account, ethnicity and other factors.

Men with breast cancer were more likely to be black and women with breast cancer (11.7% from 9.9%) and less likely to be Hispanic (3.6% against 4.5%), the researchers found.

In addition, men were older at diagnosis--63, on average, compared to 59 for women.

Men tumors were larger when a diagnosis; they were more likely to have tumors of later stage, involvement of the lymph nodes, spreads to other parts of the body and other differences.

Men with breast cancer were less likely to get a partial mastectomy and receive radiation, the study found.

Greif also concluded that survival at 5 years in all of the women was 83%, but men was 74%. Who was looking for all cancers of the breast, whatever the stage.

When the team watched Greif survival step by step, women with early stage cancer had better survival rates than men at an early stage of the disease. The gap closed when men and women had more advanced disease.

"Women are encouraged to obtain breast exams [and] mammograms" Greif said. This is why cancers are often diagnosed earlier, when tumors are smaller, he said. Increased awareness of male breast cancer is crucial.

The study is valuable in highlighting the differences between the sexes, even with its limitations, said Dr. Susan Boolbol, Chief of the division of breast surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

"Over the years, it was thought that step for the stage, women and men had equal results," said Boolbol. New research concludes otherwise and includes the largest number of men with breast than many previous studies, she noted.

Lack of information on the cause of death is a major limitation of the conclusion, she said. Despite this, "it is a very interesting study and... it will open the door to more research in male breast cancer."

The study may also raise awareness that men can develop breast cancer indeed, said Boolbol.

Men should be aware of the possible symptoms of breast cancer, suggests the American Cancer Society. Among them: a lump or swelling, dimpling or puckering, a shift to the inside of the nipple, scaling of the nipple or breast skin, redness of the nipple or breast skin and the nipple discharge.

Data presented at medical meetings are considered generally preliminary to this published in a journal of peer.

More information

For more information on male breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: May 4, 2012, press conference with: Jon Greif, D.O., general surgeon, San Francisco; Susan k. Boolbol, MD, Chief, division of breast surgery, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City; May 4, 2012, presentation, American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting, Phoenix

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For Breast Cancer care, whole breast radiation can be better

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TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) - Women who receive a type of partial-breast radiation called brachytherapy may go on to have higher rates of breast cancer recurrence and side effects such as breast pain and infection than women receiving whole-breast radiation, a new study indicates.

Brachytherapy is an increasingly popular treatment option for women with early-stage breast cancer who have had a lumpectomy, which is surgery to remove just the part of the breast with the tumor.

The treatment, which involves inserting a radioactive pellet near the lumpectomy site, can be as short as one or two weeks, compared with the six-week course of whole-breast radiation, which direct beams of radiation at the entire breast.

In the current study, which was published in the May 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at the rates of mastectomy (surgical removal of the breast), survival and complications following brachytherapy and whole-breast radiation from national Medicare records of women aged 67 and older between 2003 and 2007.

Although brachytherapy patients experienced more complications and had more mastectomies, indicating their breast cancer came back, there was no difference in survival rates between the two groups five years after treatment.

"There is nothing in our study saying that a woman should not choose brachytherapy if they want the convenience, but I think it is helpful for women to think about the trade-offs, such as higher rates of mastectomy, postoperative complications and infections," said study author Dr. Benjamin Smith, a radiologist at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston.

The study also found that the proportion of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who received brachytherapy increased from 3.5 percent in 2003 to 12.5 percent in 2007. This increase is probably due to a number of factors including patient wanting a shorter treatment course and surgeons driving the choice of the procedure, which, unlike other forms of radiation therapy, requires surgery, Smith explained.

"The wholesale push to brachytherapy outside of the protocol setting might be a little overenthusiastic," Smith said. "Our study really emphasizes that we need to continue to enroll patients in trials to try to evaluate the technology."

Brachytherapy is appropriate for women aged 60 and older with small tumors that have not spread outside of the breast, along with other indicators of less-advanced breast cancer, according to a 2009 American Society for Radiation Oncology statement written by a group of doctors that included Smith.

In younger women, breast cancer is generally thought to be more aggressive and data is lacking about the effectiveness of brachytherapy in this group, Smith said, adding that his practice only offers brachytherapy to younger women as part of clinical trials.

The current study included nearly 93,000 women aged 67 and older. About 7,000 women received brachytherapy, while almost 86,000 had whole-breast radiation.

The researchers found that about 4 percent of the women who received brachytherapy had to have a mastectomy within five years of their radiation treatment, compared with about 2 percent of the women in the whole-breast radiation group.

Despite mastectomy rates that were nearly twice as high in the brachytherapy group, "the overall rate of mastectomy was still quite low," noted Dr. Sharad Goyal, a radiation oncologist at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey.

Goyal added that it is not clear from this study whether mastectomy were actually due to breast cancer recurrence or complications such as fatty-tissue damage in the breast, which was more common in the brachytherapy group.

Overall, the rates of infection and other complications were about 28 percent among women who received brachytherapy, compared with 17 percent of women who received whole-breast radiation.

In particular, it is not surprising to see increased rates of infection within one year of treatment (16 percent of the brachytherapy group compared with 10 percent of the whole-breast radiation group) and breast pain within five years of treatment (14.5 percent of the brachytherapy group compared with 12 percent of the whole-breast radiation group), Smith said.

Brachytherapy involves "placing a catheter that will be in the patient's breast for up to two weeks that could allow bacteria to enter the skin and cause an infection," he explained.

There was no statistical difference between the five-year survival rate associated with brachytherapy (87.66 percent) and whole-breast radiation (87.04 percent). Breast cancer survival rates are not as much of a concern in this older population as improving the rate of breast preservation and decreasing the likelihood of local recurrence, study author Smith noted.

"The study by Smith and his colleagues will not change how I practice brachytherapy," Goyal said. "I will inform my patients of what the study found and that there was a higher rate of mastectomy with brachytherapy, the purpose that it is not clear if it was due to tumor recurrence."

For some patients, a greater possibility of having a second procedure and a catheter for brachytherapy are enough to make them steer away from this option, Goyal said.

In this case, another form of partial radiation called external beam radiation, which is more common than brachytherapy and involves an external radiation source directed more locally at the lumpectomy area, can provide similar results as brachytherapy, Goyal added.

Brachytherapy might be a more attractive option now than it was between 2003 and 2007, according to Goyal. "I suppose that side effects will be lower because catheters and imaging modalities have improved."

However, Smith said he doubts that these improvements will bring mastectomy rates down following brachytherapy because all of the catheters aim to deliver radiation just to a 1-centimeter ring around the lumpectomy site.

While the current study looked at Medicare records of women who had already been treated, "the final trials [that follow women] comparing brachytherapy to whole-breast irradiation are still ongoing", but they are years away from giving definitive results, Smith said.

More information

To learn more about breast cancer treatments, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Benjamin Smith, M.D., assistant professor, radiation oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Sharad Goyal, MD, assistant professor, radiation oncology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.; May 2, 2012, Journal of the American Medical Association

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Blood test can predict the risk of Breast Cancer?

(Tuesday, 1 may HealthDay News) - A blood test that spots of a specific gene changes may reveal risk of women for the years of breast cancer before the disease has a chance of development, researchers report.

British scientists analyzed blood samples of 640 patients with breast cancer and 741 women without breast cancer. Samples of breast cancer, the patients were collected on average three years before they were diagnosed with the disease.

The objective was to know if alteration of unique genes by a process called methylation to predict the risk of breast of woman.

The researchers found that women in the highest level of methylation on a domain of a gene called ATM are two times more likely to develop cancer than those with the level lower methylation. Methylation is a critical process where chemicals called "methyl groups" are added to DNA, to ensure that everything is in good working condition. High levels of high signal of disorder of DNA methylation.

This result has been particularly marked in blood samples taken by women under 60, Dr James Flanagan, research scientist Breast Cancer campaign in the Department of surgery and cancer at the Imperial College London, said in a press release of the Breast Cancer campaign.

The study was published May 1 in the journal Cancer Research.

Unlike previous studies that had blood breast cancer diagnosis, patients blood samples identified alterations in the ATM gene that does not occur because of active cancer or cancer treatment.

The results provide strong evidence that research of this type of alteration of particular genes could be used as a blood test to help predict the chances of a woman to develop breast cancer, researchers have said.

Used in combination with other tools of evaluation of breast cancer risk such as genetic testing and profiling of risk factor, this blood test could help identify women with a higher risk. This alert could be used to monitor these patients and one day may even prevent cancer of the breast.

"We know that genetic variation contributes to the risk of the disease." "With this new study, we can now also say that the epigenetic modification, or differences in how genes are modified, also has a role," said Flanagan.

"We hope that this research is only the beginning of our understanding on the epigenetic component of the risk of cancer of the breast, and in the next years, that we hope to find many examples more genes that contribute to the risk of a person." "He noted the challenge will be how to integrate all the new information into computer models that are currently used for the prediction of individual risk.

"So far, we found changes in a small region of a gene that appear to be associated with a risk of disease, and the next step with this epigenetic research is therefore a genomic approach to try to find all the genes involved," Flanagan said.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about the risk factors for breast cancer.

SOURCE: Breast Cancer campaign, press release, may 1, 2012

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Exercise May Boost Breast Cancer Patients' Quality of Life

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SATURDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise can help improve breast cancer patients' quality of life while they undergo treatment, a new study indicates.

University of Miami researchers examined the physical activity levels and mental/physical health of 240 women with non-metastatic breast cancer (it hadn't spread to other parts of the body) who were recruited for the study four to 10 weeks after surgery.

The women who were physically active had less depression, less debilitating fatigue and a better quality of life during cancer treatment after surgery.

"Women who are physically active may also have more confidence in their own ability to continue with family-related, household, work-related or social activities, which bring meaning and satisfaction to their lives. This may lead to appraisals of lower fatigue, heightened quality of life and less depression," study author Jamie Stagl, a doctoral student in clinical health psychology, said in a university news release.

The same researchers previously found that stress management improves breast cancer treatment.

The study was slated for presentation Friday at the Society of Behavioral Medicine's annual meeting, in New Orleans.

Data and conclusions presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer treatment.

SOURCE: University of Miami, news release, April 13, 2012

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