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PET scan can non invasively measure early assessment of treatment for common type of breast cancer
May 27, 2009Seattle - Non-invasive imaging can measure how well patients with the most common form of breast cancer - estrogen receptor positive type - respond to standard aromatase inhibitor therapy after only two weeks and shows similar findings that more invasive needle sampling identifies, according to a poster presentation to be presented at the ASCO annual meeting next week.
Using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning and a glucose analogue called FDG, a research team led by Hannah Linden, M.D. and David Mankoff M.D., of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington, scanned 21 patients before and after two weeks of aromatase inhibitor therapy. Many of the patients also underwent a needle biopsy as a control measure to compare the two techniques.
The results - 16 of the 21 patients had a greater than 20 percent decline in FDG values - "paralleled perfectly" earlier work done by UK-based researchers who used needle biopsies to measure whether the proliferation of cancer cells was slowed by therapy, according to Linden, who is a breast cancer oncologist.
"Our findings are exciting because they suggest that we can measure a patient's response to therapy noninvasively, and PET scanning provides us simultaneous quantitative metabolic measurements at multiple tumor sites," Linden said. "PET has the potential to be a powerful tool to help doctors make important treatment decisions in as little as two weeks instead of two or more months."
It's common for patients with estrogen receptor positive cancer to a bone-dominant type yet they have remained largely unstudied in clinical trials because they are very difficult to image, according to Linden. "Our work allowed us to study a common problem in a way that's not been done before and to help more people," she said. "More work needs to be done but in my mind this was a homerun," Linden said. The study was funded by a "Progress for Patients" grant from the National Cancer Institute and the Avon Foundation. Joining Linden were researchers from the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
"Our findings are exciting because they suggest that we can measure a patient's response to therapy noninvasively, and PET scanning provides us simultaneous quantitative metabolic measurements at multiple tumor sites," Linden said. "PET has the potential to be a powerful tool to help doctors make important treatment decisions in as little as two weeks instead of two or more months."
It's common for patients with estrogen receptor positive cancer to a bone-dominant type yet they have remained largely unstudied in clinical trials because they are very difficult to image, according to Linden. "Our work allowed us to study a common problem in a way that's not been done before and to help more people," she said. "More work needs to be done but in my mind this was a homerun," Linden said. The study was funded by a "Progress for Patients" grant from the National Cancer Institute and the Avon Foundation. Joining Linden were researchers from the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News RSSResearcher: '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.
Plastic surgeons offer microsurgery technique for breast reconstruction, tummy tuck after mastectomy
Since her teens, Jennifer Jablon had watched family members deal with breast cancer during their 40s, 50s, and 60s. She wondered whether it would be her fate too.
Experimental agent reduces breast cancer metastasis to bone
Researchers have reduced breast cancer metastasis to bone using an experimental agent to inhibit ROCK, a protein that was found to be over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer.
American Dietetic Association Releases Updated Position Paper Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding
The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.
Weight Training Boosts Breast Cancer Survivors' Body Image and Satisfaction with Intimate Relationships, Penn Study Shows
In addition to building muscle, weightlifting is also a prescription for self-esteem among breast cancer survivors, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research.
Early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer patients at increased risk of recurrence
Early-stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors one centimeter or smaller are at significant risk of recurrence of their disease, compared to those with early-stage disease who do not express the aggressive protein, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Adapting Space-Industry Technology to Treat Breast Cancer
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.
An exquisite container
In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or faceted gemstone that can be broken to empty the ring's contents. It is invariably enormous - so large it is rather odd nobody seems to notice it.
MicroRNA-mediated metastasis suppression
Metastases are responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths. In the upcoming issue of G&D, Dr. Robert Weinberg (MIT) and colleagues lend molecular insight into how microRNAs suppress tumor metastasis.
Study shows hormone replacement therapy decreases mortality in younger postmenopausal woman
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal estrogen deficiency has been in widespread use for over 60 years. Several observational studies over the years showed that HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality; available evidence supported the routine use of HRT to increase longevity in postmenopausal women.
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