Posts Tagged ‘breast’

The British Medical Journal is reporting on a new Canadian study which suggests that women who are taking the drug tamoxifen for treatment of breast cancer should not take the antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine). This is because Paxil is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that significantly inhibits an enzyme called cytochrome P450 2D6, which is needed to metabolize tamoxifen into its active form. This effect, however, was not seen with other SSRIs that were evaluated, including Celexa (citalopram) and Effexor (venlafaxine). It’s important to note that if you are currently takin Paxil, you should not abruptly stop the drug because it can cause serious withdrawal side effects. People who are currently taking Paxil and tamoxifen should talk with their doctors about changing their antidepressant. [via HealthDay]

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Earlier this month the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of respected experts in primary care and prevention, caused an uproar when they presented evidence that routine mammogram screening for breast cancer should not begin until the age of 50. The group based their recommendation on evidence showing that the “additional benefit gained by starting screening at age 40 years rather than at age 50 years is small, and that moderate harms from screening remain at any age”.  Essentially, the number of women we need to screen in order to extend one woman’s life is far higher for the group between the ages of 40 to 49 than for the group aged 50 to 59. However, current US Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, issued a statement yesterday stating that there will not be any changes to government policy on mammography: screening mammograms should continue to start at the age of 40. [via Medical News Today]

Additional USPSTF recommendations include:

• Regular biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74.
• No teaching of breast self-examination (BSE).
• There is not enough evidence to assess whether clinical breast examination (CBE) does more harm than good, beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
• Current evidence is not enough to assess whether digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would be better or worse than film mammography.

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The journal Cancer reports on a new study which shows that women previously treated for breast cancer have a higher risk of cancer recurrence if they have highly dense breasts. Women who were classified as having highly dense breasts had a 21% chance of cancer recurrence, compared to 5% among women with low-density breasts. Because of this the study authors suggest that women with highly dense breasts may benefit from additional therapies, such as radiation, after breast and lymph node surgery. [via Medical News Today]

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For years women who have undergone surgery for breast cancer have been told to avoid lifting heavy objects for fear of causing painful arm swelling, known as lymphedema. However, new research appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that, on the contrary, weight lifting actually reduces the incidence of lymphedema. By studying 141 breast cancer survivors, it was noted that fewer weightlifters had suffered lymphedema flare-ups – 14% versus 29% among those who did not participate in weight training classes. Lead study author Kathryn Schmitz, an exercise scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, recommends that women do not rush into weight training after breast cancer surgery. Rather, she recommends the following:

• Have a certified fitness professional teach you how to do the exercises properly.
• Start slow, with a program that gradually progresses.
• Wear a well-fitting compression garment during workouts.

[via CBS News]

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Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide with about 450,000 annual deaths. For the most part, awareness campaigns focus on early breast cancer detection. Seldom do they draw attention to those who currently have the disease. This is contrary to the results of a new Oxford University pubic opinion study, which found that the majority of women living with metastatic breast cancer (late stage), despite the negative impact the disease has on their lives, still enjoy living and desire more public attention be drawn to this aspect of their experience. Drawing attention to women with metastatic breast cancer and getting the pubic to talk about the disease can not only relieve the sense of isolation felt by some women, it can also help us understand how best to support and care for them.

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Did you know that of the past six US presidents, four were left-handed? Make that five out of seven – Barack Obama is also left-handed. (Perhaps Al Gore would have won in 2000 if he publicized that he, too, is a lefty.) So do left-handers have some sort of presidential edge over the rest of us? Perhaps. For nearly all right-handers, language abilities reside exclusively on one side of the brain – usually the left, which controls the right hand. But one in seven lefties process language on both sides of the brain, which some think enhances their language abilities (think Ronald Regan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama). Read more.

Left-handedness was also suggested to be a risk factor for breast cancer in women. A Dutch study that examined over 12,000 women found that lefties were more than twice as likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer. Researchers believe that exposure to high levels of sex hormones during fetal development may induce left-handedness and can trigger changes in breast tissue that predispose to cancer growth later in life. However, scientists are quick to remind us that breast cancer is an extremely complex disease with various potential causes, and simply being left-handed will not single-handedly (no pun intended) cause breast cancer.

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Results of a 12-year-long study provide strong evidence that shorter radiation schedules can provide the same outcomes as current treatment times for early stages of breast cancer. Some centers in the US already offer shorter courses of treatment, but they are more widely available in Canada and parts of Europe. Shorter treatment regimens would allow more women with breast cancer to be treated due to increased availability of machines and resources. Full story.

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New research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology finds that the current computer models used to determine breast cancer risk appears to underestimate the true risk in Asian women. Oncologists use computer models to identify women who might have certain genetic mutations which increase their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Those women deemed by the models to be likely carriers of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are then referred for genetic testing of these genes. The researchers found that the models were highly accurate in predicting the presence of mutations in white women, but falls short when it comes to Asians. It’s yet unclear why this is the case. They suspect that inheritance patterns common in white women may be different in the Asian population. The researchers emphasize the need for further investigation into the genetic variability of different ethnic groups. Full story.

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