Barcelona, Spain: Researchers believe they may have found a way to avoid damaging salivary glands during radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer – a discovery that could improve the quality of life of 500,000 patients a year worldwide with the disease. Presenting their findings to the 31st conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy […]
Category: Cancer
Ultrasound-guided surgery is the best way to remove breast tumours and should become the new standard of care
Vienna, Austria: The use of ultrasound-guided surgery to remove tumours from women who have palpable breast cancer is much more successful than standard surgery in excising all the cancerous tissue while sparing as much healthy tissue as possible, according to the results of a randomised controlled trial. As a consequence, researchers told the eighth European […]
Everolimus plus exemestane improves bone health in post-menopausal women with advanced breast cancer
Vienna, Austria: Results from a phase III clinical trial evaluating a new treatment for breast cancer in post-menopausal women show that the combination of two cancer drugs, everolimus and exemestane, significantly improves bone strength and reduces the chances of cancer spreading (metastasising) in the bone. Professor Michael Gnant told the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference […]
Overweight and obese women at greater risk of breast cancer recurrence even after chemotherapy dose adjustment
Vienna, Austria: Women who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with breast cancer are at higher risk of cancer recurrence or related death than are leaner women, according to a new study presented to the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8). This finding held true even though the study mandated that chemotherapy dosage […]
Understanding individual genetic variation can help predict chemotherapy side effects
Vienna, Austria: The largest study ever on the effect of genetic variability on the toxicity of chemotherapy in breast cancer shows that it is possible to predict which patients are most likely to suffer serious side effects, a researcher told the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8). Dr. Christof Vulsteke, from the Catholic University of […]
New genomic test spares patients chemotherapy with no adverse effect on survival
Vienna, Austria: Testing a breast cancer tumour for its genomic signature can help identify which patients will need adjuvant systemic therapy (additional chemotherapy) after surgery, and spare its use in those for whom it is not necessary, according to the results of a study presented to the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8). Dr. Sabine […]
Radiotherapy for DCIS still protects against recurrence after fifteen years
Vienna, Austria: Radiotherapy treatment (RT) after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) [1] still has a major protective effect against recurrence more than 15 years later, according to the results of an international trial. Researchers found that the use of RT in addition to surgery could reduce the chances of a local recurrence (the […]
Non-drug treatments help alleviate symptoms of treatment-induced menopause in breast cancer patients
Vienna, Austria: Researchers from The Netherlands have found that the menopausal symptoms caused by giving chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to younger women with breast cancer can be ameliorated considerably through the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)[1] and physical exercise (PE). These interventions can be effective in dealing with such distressing symptoms as hot flushes, […]
Cancer cells in blood predict chances of survival and can help target breast cancer treatment
Vienna, Austria: Detecting the presence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood of women with early breast cancer after surgery but before the start of chemotherapy can provide useful information about their chances of surviving the disease. CTCs are cancer cells which are detectable in patients with a solid tumour and their value in […]
Screening debate: breast cancer screening and better treatment BOTH help to save significant numbers of lives
Vienna, Austria: A Dutch study of the effectiveness of breast cancer screening shows that, even with improved treatments for the disease, population-based mammography programmes still save a significant number of lives. The finding, presented at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna, will add further fuel to the debate about whether or not […]