MedNews

You are here: Home / Archives for cancer

New Breast Cancer Gene HMMR Found

By Leave a Comment

Researchers have found a new gene called HMMR that, when mutated, may lead to a significantly greater chance of developing breast cancer. The study was a collaboration of international researchers from Spain, Israel, and several U.S. organizations.

The HMMR gene is mutated in about 10% of the population, while two other genes related to breast cancer, BRCA1 and CRCA2, are mutated in only about 0.3% of the popuation. According to the study’s authors, it’s important to identify more common breast cancer-related genes so that targeting the gene for early detection will have a greater impact.

The method of identifying the HMMR gene began with computer modeling to identify genes that impact cancer development and to see how they interact with other genes. Starting with four known breast cancer-related genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM and CHEK2), researchers then showed that alterations of either BRCA1 or HMMR can lead to genetic instability and interfere with cell division.

To specifically understand whether variations in HMMR increased breast cancer risk, 923 women with breast cancer and similar women without breast cancer were analyzed in a study led by Gadi Rennert, M.D., director of the CHS National Cancer Control Center in Haifa, Israel. The results indicated that women in the study under 40 years of age with the HMMR variant (even after accounting for mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes), had a 2.7 times greater risk of developing breast cancer than women without the variation.

The study was conducted among a population of Ashkenazi Jewish women, who have a higher risk of breast cancer than other groups.

The findings were verified in two other studies conducted in New York–one among another group of Ashkenazi Jewish women with a family history of breast cancer but no identified BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, and a third study of Jewish women with and without breast cancer in New York. Overall, 2,475 women with breast cancer and 1,918 healthy women were studied in Israel and New York.

The findings indicated that incidence of breast cancer was 23% higher in women who had one copy of the genetic variant, and 46% higher in women who had two copies of the variant. Researchers also concluded that HMMR may be associated with early-onset breast cancer, as the women with the HMMR variant were diagnosed about one year earlier than the control group.

"Identifying genes involved in cancer in the general population is important, because not all of the causes of breast cancer have been found. Through discoveries such as this, someday we might be able to more precisely estimate a person’s risk of cancer based on their genes," says study author Laura Rozek, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Medical School.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Niehaus, Southworth, Weissenbach Foundation, and the Koodish Foundation.

Sources: Nature Genetics, doi:10.1038/ngxxxx and University of Michigan

Pregnancy After Breast Cancer

By Leave a Comment

While many women who go through breast cancer do so in their 50’s and are no longer considering childbirth, women who are treated for breast cancer at a younger age are often left wondering whether or not they will be able to have children afterwards.

Breast cancer treatments often involve chemotherapy regimens that can affect ovarian function, but according to Daniel F. Hayes, an M.D. and clinical director of the breast cancer oncology program at the University of Michigan, many women can still safely conceive after breast cancer treatments.

Fertility is certainly a concern for women undergoing breast cancer treatment and Dr. Hayes points out that fertility is definitely something that should be discussed before treatment. "That discussion is going to be specific for each patient," he notes, "because it depends how old she is, whether she should get chemotherapy, what kind of chemotherapy, and whether she cares about maintaining fertility."

Ovarian function can be affected by multiple factors in breast cancer treatment—particularly chemotherapy. While most chemotherapies negatively affect ovarian function, younger women have a better chance of regaining their periods after treatment than their older counterparts who may be closer to menopause.

Other therapies that affect fertility are the newer hormone-based therapies, which are often given for up to five years. To become pregnant, women would have to stop taking the hormone therapy for a period of time before conception. Dr. Hayes discourages this course however, because, he says, the benefits of the therapy are so great.

 Studies have shown that there should be little worry that breast cancer treatment therapies have an adverse effect on the newborn children. The risk of birth defects or miscarriages was not shown to be elevated among women who have undergone chemotherapy.

Some Breast Cancer Facts

  • Number of American breast cancer diagnosis in 2007: 180,510
  • U.S. deaths from breast cancer in 2007: 40,910
  • Breast cancer is the #3 leading cause of female deaths in the United States.
  • With early detection, breast cancer can be cured in 80 percent of women.
  • It is recommended that women over 50 get a mammogram every 12 months.
  • Never ignore a lump or change in the look or feel of your breast.

Deaths Linked to Cephalon’s Cancer Pain Drug, Fentora

By 1 Comment

After receiving reports of deaths and other serious side effects, FDA is alerting consumers and health care professionals to concerns about the use of Fentora (fentanyl buccal) tablets, a potent opioid pain medication.

Fentora is used only for treating breakthrough pain in cancer patients receiving opioid treatment and who have become tolerant to it—those who take a regular, daily, around-the-clock narcotic pain medicine. Breakthrough pain is intense increases in pain that occur rapidly, even when opioid pain-control medication is being used.

People who develop tolerance to narcotic pain medicines are more resistant to the dangerous side effects of these medications than those who take narcotic pain medication less frequently.

The deaths reported indicate that some cancer patients

  • should not have been prescribed this medicine
  • were prescribed the wrong Fentora dose
  • took too many Fentora doses
  • received Fentora as a substitute for another fentanyl-containing product that is not equal to Fentora

Important Safety Information

  • Ask your doctor if you are opioid-tolerant before taking Fentora. The drug should only be used for breakthrough pain in opioid-tolerant patients with cancer.
  • Fentora should not be used to treat any type of short-term pain, including headaches or migraines, pain after an operation, or pain due to injury.
  • People who only take narcotic pain medications occasionally should not use Fentora.
  • Do not substitute Fentora for other fentanyl medicines, including Actiq. The dosage strength of fentanyl in Fentora is NOT equal to the same dosage strength of fentanyl in other fentanyl-containing products. Using the same dose can result in a fatal overdose.
  • Read the Medication Guide that comes with Fentora,and follow the directions exactly.

Watch For These Signs

Get medical attention right away if you have any of these signs:

  • trouble breathing or shallow breathing
  • tiredness, extreme sleepiness, or sedation
  • inability to think, talk, or walk normally
  • feeling faint, dizzy, or confused

FDA Actions

  • requested the manufacturer, Cephalon Inc., strengthen warnings and improve the dosing instructions in the drug’s product labeling and Medication Guide for patients
  • requested the company improve their education plan for prescribers and pharmacists
  • published a Public Health Advisory and Health Care Professional Sheet warning health care professionals that it is critical to follow Fentora’s product labeling
  • monitoring the Fentora issue closely and reviewing available information, including adverse events
  • working with the manufacturer to ensure the safest use of the medicine
  • providing updates as new information is available

Adverse events related to Fentora should be reported to MedWatch, the FDA’s voluntary reporting program.

Source: FDA

Decrease in Hormone Therapies Linked to Decline in Breast Cancer

By Leave a Comment

Researchers claim that an analysis of patients’ treatment records at a large HMO indicate that reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be the cause behind declining breast cancer rates.
They pointed out that, as some studies suggest, this decline is not due to reduced use of mammography.

The research indicates that one of the main causes of the decline is due to the reduction in post menopausal hormone therapy in 2003, in response to results of Women’s Health Initiative that linked breast cancer to hormone replacement therapy.

Growth of small tumors slows down when hormone replacement therapy is discontinued delaying discovery by almost two years. With the number of post menopausal estrogen and progestin prescriptions reduced to almost half, cancer rates have dropped by 7% in the year 2003.

Second Round High Dose Chemo May Cure Testicular Cancer

By Leave a Comment

Physicians from Indiana University report that increasing the dosage of anticancer drugs after the failure of first-line chemotherapy may lead to more succesful outcomes for men with testicular cancer.

The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine states that a considerable number of male patients with germ cell tumor are cured when they are treated with a second round of high dosage chemotherapy after the first round of chemotherapy has failed.

Unusual sensitivity of testicular cells to anticancer medicines is assumed to be behind these successful treatments. This treatment, however, cannot be extended to other types of cancers.

Low Cholesterol May Increase Cancer Risk

By Leave a Comment

According to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, use of cholesterol-lowering drugs or statins may increase the risk of developing cancer in patients.

Statins are commonly prescribed to heart patients because they help in lowering the level of cholesterol in blood.

During the analysis, 13 statin clinical trials were performed on 41,000 patients. The results indicated a higher rate of a newly-diagnosed cancer in low-cholesterol patients than high-cholesterol patients.

Although, in comparison to high cholesterol patients one additional case of cancer was found in low-cholesterol patients, researchers are still not sure about a direct link between statin use and increased cancer risk.

Tomatoes vs. Cancer, is the Evidence on Lycopene In?

By Leave a Comment

Sure it’s better to eat less fat, more vegetables and more tomatoes. But does the antioxidant lycopene prevent cancer?

A review published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute stated that their researches couldn’t find any scientifically sound evidence to support links between consuming antioxidants (food or supplements) and a statistically significant decrease in cancer of the prostate, lung, GI tract, breast or pancreas.

Source: New York Times (7/24/07)

Annual MRI Recommended for Some Women at Risk for Breast Cancer

By Leave a Comment

For some women who are at higher risk for breast cancer, the American Cancer Society’s has new guidelines that recommend those women get an MRI scan along with their annual mammogram.

While MRI’s are more sensitive and is likely to show more spots in the breast, it is often difficult to know if those spots are cancerous, and biopsy may be required. This is why the MRI is only recommended for high-risk women.

According to the American Cancer Society, an MRI screening in addition to mammograms is recommended for women who meet at least one of the following conditions:

  • they have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation
  • they have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, child) with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, even if they have yet to be tested themselves
  • their lifetime risk of breast cancer has been scored at 20%-25% or greater, based on one of several accepted risk assessment tools that look at family history and other factors
  • they had radiation to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30
  • they have Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Cowden syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, or may have one of these syndromes based on a history in a first-degree relative.

Extra Fruits and Vegetables Don’t Necessarily Help Prevent the Recurrence of Breast Cancerdiv

By Leave a Comment

It is recommended to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetable a day. A clinical study of women who ate twice as much as the recommended servings found that both groups had about the same in long term breast cancer survival.

The results were not what the researchers expected, as they thought the extra nutrients would improve the body’s ability to fight off recurrence of breast cancer. The extensive study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A Cancer Treatment Most Doctor’s Don’t Know About

By Leave a Comment

During the early 1900’s, Dr. William Coley learned something that seemed to be a very effective cancer treatment. By infecting tumors with the Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, he found that the body’s immune system eventually killed off the tumors.

He began treating his cancer patients by injecting the bacteria directly into tumors, and found that the treatment was quite succesful, particularly when the treatment resulted in recurring fevers.

Today, radiation treatment is a preferred method, possibly because Coley’s superior’s at the time believed that radiation treatment could be improved to become a more successful cancer treatment.

Today, the Cancer Research institute, founded by Coley’s daughter, carries on the research.

Sources: