Gene Test Could Reduce Unnecessary Treatment For Women With Breast Cancer (pp 340, 362)July 30, 2003In this week's issue of THE LANCET, US researchers describe how gene expression profiles could determine whether or not women with breast cancer would respond to docetaxel treatment. Women who are likely to be resistant to the drug could be given alternative treatment. Chemotherapy or hormonal treatment after surgery for breast cancer is crucial in reducing mortality. Patients react differently to chemotherapy drugs and some women are resistant to treatment. However, since there is currently no way to distinguish between women who might respond and those who probably will not, all eligible patients are treated similarly. Jenny Chang and colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, USA, proposed that gene expression profiles might indicate a patient's response to docetaxel, one of the newest and most widely used chemotherapy drugs. They took biopsy samples from primary breast tumours in 24 patients before treatment, and then measured tumour response to docetaxel. Different gene expression profiles were associated with different responses to the drug. Tumours that were sensitive to treatment had higher expression of genes involved in the cell cycle, protein transport, and protein modification, whereas resistant tumours showed enhanced expression of some transcriptional and signal transduction genes. Dr Chang comments: "This study helps to define the molecular portrait of cancers that respond or not to docetaxel, one of the most active agents in breast cancer treatment. When validated, this type of molecular profiling could have important implications in defining the optimum treatment for individual patients, and reduce unproductive treatment, unnecessary toxicity, and overall cost. " [See Commentary, page 340] Lancet |
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| Related Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News Articles UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion. Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists. Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Discovery in worms by Queen's researchers points to more targeted cancer treatment Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming genes interact, and may offer a drug target for cancer treatment. FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found. Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe The current health care debate in the United States is complicated. Trade-offs between heath care expenditures, lifestyle choices and life expectancy have been suggested but seldom clearly demonstrated. Scientists uncover new key to the puzzle of hormone therapy and breast cancer The use of postmenopausal hormone therapy has decreased over time in the United States, which researchers suggest may play a key role in the declining rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia, a known risk factor for breast cancer. Breast density associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence A new study finds that women treated for breast cancer are at higher risk of cancer recurrence if they have dense breasts. Published in the December 15, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study's results indicate that breast cancer patients with dense breasts may benefit from additional therapies following surgery, such as radiation. Researcher: 'Optical biopsy' for breast cancer increasingly accurate But women may not have to endure the medical costs, stress and potential complications that accompany such invasive biopsies forever. A University of Florida biomedical engineering researcher is making progress on an "optical biopsy" that has the potential to determine whether growths are cancerous without ever puncturing the skin. More Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News Articles |
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