Breaking Research News from sources other than Breastcancer.org
Comments
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Lumpie,
Thanks for the excellent links to the articles discussing soy. The article on the INSPIRE site makes a good case that evidence at the cell culture level is a long way from evidence in humans, or even mice. From the Fred Hutchinson article:
"If you choose to eat soy, bear in mind two caveats. Soy is one of the most genetically modified foods in our country; 92 percent of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified and that is likely not a healthy form. Choose organic forms of soy instead. Also, avoid "isolated soy protein" (found in a lot of bars, shakes, etc.) as an ingredient. Manufacturers take all of the other nutrients out of the soybean and retain only the protein as a cheap, easy way to increase the protein in these foods. Instead, seek out the whole forms of soy."
Is soy safe for breast cancer survivors?
So I looked at the ingredients in the High-Protein Boost shakes that I have been using to try to increase my protein intake, since I don't eat meat or poultry. First ingredient: water; second ingredient: corn syrup...and other than milk solids, a big dose of the isolated soy protein. (And it's not like sugar is something I want to eat more of either.) I'm going to look for a replacement for those shakes. When in the U.S. I had purchased some high-protein "Green" powder that used pea protein instead. You would mix it with water. It was already expensive in the U.S., ~$30, things like that tend to be double the price in Canada. But it might be worth it to get something like that instead. The Boost drink just doesn't look healthy!
The article above also mentioned avoiding high-fat dairy products which are also a source of estrogen It's almost like there is nothing left I can eat! lol I have toast with cheddar cheese every morning, but I have to eat something! I guess I could switch to feta cheese.
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An integrative cancer MD told me organic whey protein isolate is ok, even though in general he said to avoid dairy.
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Lumpie -- I follow along with each post. Just want to say THANK YOU (and thanks to all others that add on) for the work you do.
I've bookmarked many of the studies you've posted so that I can bring them up to my Oncologists and have for future reference as well. Knowledge is power IMO and you've definitely helped me become more powerful in this fight.
Knowing that the battle you're fighting this research probably takes something out of you, but I wanted you to know I so appreciate it and it makes a difference in my life, and likely so many others. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Hugs and healing to you!
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Marijean, thank you for the info re mammograms for women in their 70s. I am one who benefited. Diagnosed at age 77 with normal annual mammograms until then. Tumor was so deep in the breast, near the chest wall, that I could not feel it. I shudder when I consider what could have happened if I had followed the USA recommendation to stop mammograms after age 75 with a history of normal mammograms to avoid the stress of false positives! I am a strong advocate of continuing screening!
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Thanks Berverntx, and I had no idea there was a cut-off age. We have to look out for ourselves!
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Read this: World's first total body scanner takes a 3D picture of the entire human form in just 20 seconds The scientists plan to put the first scanner to work in Sacramento, California, and to start using it on patients from June 2019.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6079357...0 -
Reducing Diagnostic Errors Through Patient Engagement
Embracing patient-centered communication can help avoid diagnostic errors
Diagnostic errors are a serious patient safety problem, impacting an estimated 12 million adult outpatients each year and causing as many as 17% of adverse events for hospitalized patients.
"Health systems should develop and implement formal programs to collect patients' experiences with the diagnostic process and use these data to promote an organizational culture that strives to reduce harm from diagnostic error,"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/hospitalbasedmedicine...
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff....
https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0698
{Interesting article on factors that contribute to diagnostic errors and means of addressing the problem.}
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Amica, Those Boost ingredients sound... not the most healthful (to put it diplomatically). In the past I have used New Greens. They have an organic version and it is plant-based. Not sure it has much protein but I think it does have lots of plant-type nutrients. Finding something that is not a bunch of synthetically compounded chemicals is a challenge. One thing I learned from my nutrition class that that it is harder for most of us than we might expect to get enough protein. And we need that if our bodies are tying to heal. Many protein powders are from whey which is a dairy by-product. I have no idea about the impact for estrogen. Supplementers may wish to consider and research this. (Thanks for your comment on this point Santabarbarian. That is reassuring.)
Spoonie77: Thank you so much for your kind comments! That means a lot. For the time being, this is my primary "outside" activity and I am grateful to know that it is helpful.
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Marijen, thanks for the scanner pic! I did not imagine this degree of resolution. It looks like the PET scans. 20 seconds! Wow. I just spent an hour in an MRI!
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Pharma, Seniors' Groups Battle over 'Donut Hole Deal'
Drugmakers ordered to provide bigger discounts under Medicare Part D, and they're fighting back
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/me...
{Not trying to start an insurance debate but thought I would post this link since changes to coverage may impact the out-of-pocket costs many of us pay for medication. It is prudent to remain well informed and prepare our budgets to the extent possible.}
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Cancer Poised to Become Top U.S. Killer
"Epidemiological transition greatest in highest-income U.S. counties"
Cancer appears to be overtaking heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S., especially in higher-income populations, according to an observational study of 12 years of county mortality records.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/pu...
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People use Mannose for UTIs
Could a type of sugar halt cancer's march?
Published Friday 23 November 2018
By Tim Newman
Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323786.p...
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Incidence of Fatal Breast Cancer Measures the Increased Effectiveness of Therapy in Women Participating in Mammography Screening
First published: 08 November 2018
- Using comprehensive registries for population, screening history, breast cancer incidence, and disease-specific death data in a defined Swedish population, this study tried to answer the question of how much participation in regular mamography screening will improve the chances of avoiding death from breast cancer compared with no screening participation. The benefit for women who chose to participate in an organized breast cancer screening program was a 60% lower risk of dying from breast cancer within 10 years after diagnosis (RR, 0.40) and a 47% lower risk of dying from breast cancer within 20 years after diagnosis (RR, 0.53) compared with the corresponding risks for nonparticipants.
- Patients who have participated in screening obtain significantly greater benefit from therapy at the time of diagnosis than do patients who have not participated in screening.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/C/76002/56?elsca1=e...
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Oral Etoposide Retains Some Efficacy in Heavily Pretreated HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer
24 October 2018
- In this study of 16,702 patients from the ESME database, which is a real-life national French multicenter cohort of patients with metastatic breast cancer, 345 received oral etoposide and 222 were eligible for inclusion in the study to compare efficacy with other chemotherapy regimens. Median progression-free survival was 3.2 months and was not significantly altered by therapeutic line. Median overall survival was 7.3 months. Disease phenotype was prognostic for both progression-free and overall survival. No difference in progression-free and overall survival was reported between oral etoposide and other chemotherapy regimens in the same setting.
- These results demonstrate that oral etoposide in selected heavily pretreated patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer has some efficacy.
- CONCLUSION: Oral etoposide retains some efficacy in selected heavily pre-treated patients with HER2-negative MBC, with the advantages of oral administration.
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Research on ALCL statistic is constantly changing and growing. A new article on increased risks of ALCL with implants, both textured and smooth. (glad I changed my mind on implants)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/hundreds-of-women-with-breast-implants-have-developed-a-rare-cancer/ar-BBQ81tr?ocid=spartanntp
And another article on more issues with the studies regarding implants.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/26/breast-implants-study-reveals-serious-safety-concerns?CMP=Share_iOSApp_O&fbclid=IwAR2Q4DbXSaio-ZulfZ1AqXfetOOfDaVyVa68szAWlNODgTjyN5LjHBgJlcc0 -
I think this is important, it’s about pesticides in our food and the lawsuit Monsanto lost.
Dave Murphy: Will Monsanto's Loss Result In Less Poison In Our Food? | Peak Prosperity
https://www.peakprosperity.com/podcast/114356/dave...0 -
Radiotherapy, chemo might adversely affect cognition in breast cancer
Breast cancer survivors who received chemotherapy and radiation treatments had lower telomerase enzymatic activity and higher DNA damage levels, which are biological aging markers tied to reduced cognitive performance, while lower telomerase activity also correlated to worse scores for motor speed and attention, according to a study in the journal Cancer. The findings may prompt the development of treatments aimed at curbing cognitive decline among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy, researchers said.Radiology Business (11/27)
https://www.radiologybusiness.com/topics/care-deli...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/c...
https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.31777
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Here is another report on...
RSNA: Mammography Has Value in Women Age 75 or Older
Cancer detection rate is 8.4/1,000 exams in older women; 98 percent of cancers surgically excised
https://www.practiceupdate.com/C/76582/56?elsca1=e...
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Association of Symptoms Reported and Screening and Interval Breast Cancers
- British Journal of Cancer This population-based study looked at the association between symptoms reported at breast cancer screening visits and interval cancers.Women with a lump had a threefold risk of interval cancer at the subsequent screening compared with those without a lump (HR, 3.7).
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Oh thank you yet again Lumpie. So my cognitive tentativeness is likely lasting 'chemo brain' 5 years down the road. Or since I had rads too, 'rad brain'? At least I know I'm not crazy.
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MinusTwo: we have excellent excuses for our "cognitive impairment." As for me, I haven't ruled out crazy
I still have aspriations. 0 -
My question is what took them so long to figure it out because we knew that already.
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Evaluation of Osteopenia and Osteoporosis in Younger Breast Cancer Survivors Compared With Cancer-Free Women
- Breast Cancer Research This prospective study examined bone loss in 211 breast cancer survivors (mean age at breast cancer diagnosis was 47 years) compared with 567 cancer-free women with a familial risk for breast cancer. The breast cancer survivors were at a significantly increased risk of osteopenia and/or osteoporosis compared with the cancer-free women (HR, 1.68). Younger survivors ≤50 years old were also at increased risk relative to cancer-free women.Younger breast cancer survivors face an increased risk of osteopenia and/or osteoporosis compared with women who are cancer-free.Studies are needed to determine effective approaches to minimize bone loss in this population.The association was stronger among recent survivors after only 2 years of follow-up. A higher risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis was also observed among survivors aged ≤ 50 years, estrogen receptor-positive tumors, and those treated with aromatase inhibitors alone or chemotherapy plus any hormone therapy relative to cancer-free women.
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Digital Mammograms Show Vulnerability to Cyberattacks
Two out of three radiologists couldn't tell that images were manipulated
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/rsna/...
An artificial intelligence (AI) program was able to add and subtract malignant features to digital mammography images, researchers reported, pointing to the vulnerability of machine-based image analysis to malicious hacking.
If such an AI program were deployed in the real world, healthy patients could be misdiagnosed as having cancer, or more worrisome, actual malignant tumors could go undiagnosed.
...cyberattacks on hospitals that employ AI could start occurring in 5 to 10 years, as the software is rolled out and installed.
{at least we don't have to worry about this for a while....?}
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Combating Cancer: How AI Will Revolutionize Healthcare
Applying AI {artificial intelligence} to image analysis is just one way the technology could revolutionize healthcare. "Traditionally it would take 10 to 30 minutes for a radiologist to assess a CT scan when screening for cancerous nodules. With AI it could take seconds," Rui says.
The more AI is applied to image analysis, the more accurate it will become, as all AI feeds on data. In some cases, AI is already more accurate in detecting abnormalities from CT scans than its human counterparts.
"Now we can use AI to test known cancer patients," Song says. "In the future we hope to have screened enough people to uncover new biomarkers that can help us predict cancer before it develops."
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Trebananib/Paclitaxel/Trastuzumab in Patients With HER2-Positive Locally Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Clinical Breast Cancer In this open-label, phase Ib study, 40 women with EGFR-positive breast cancer were given weekly paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and intravenous trebananib to evaluate safety and preliminary tumor response. Of these women, 2 experienced dose-limiting toxicities. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were peripheral edema, diarrhea, alopecia, nausea, and fatigue. Overall, 31 patients exhibited confirmed objective responses. Of patients who received 10 mg/kg trebananib, 80% achieved partial responses, with no patients achieving complete responses. Of the patients who received 30 mg/kg trebananib, 71% achieved partial response and 18% achieved complete responses.These findings demonstrate that trebananib was well-tolerated at doses up to 30 mg/kg weekly, with promising antitumor activity.
https://www.clinical-breast-cancer.com/article/S15...(18)30451-8/fulltext0 -
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy During Anti-HER2 Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer
- The Oncologist In this report, the authors describe a 63-year-old woman who presented with progressive dyspnea following her third cycle of pertuzumab plus trastuzumab combined with nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy.The authors note that this is the first reported case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with the combination regimen of pertuzumab plus trastuzumab.Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted antibodies, including pertuzumab and trastuzumab, improve overall survival and progression-free survival among women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, but grade ≥3 cardiotoxicity occurs in approximately 8% of cases. Here we report a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with the use of dual anti-HER2 therapy in a 63-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department with an 8- to 10-hour history of progressive dyspnea after completing her third cycle of pertuzumab plus trastuzumab in addition to nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy. To our knowledge, this patient represents the first reported case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with pertuzumab plus trastuzumab combination therapy in the literature.
- https://www.practiceupdate.com/c/76113/67/13/?elsc...
- http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/ear...
- doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2018-0285
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Concomitant Medications Impact the Risk of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
- The Oncologist Data on patients with breast or ovarian cancer treated with paclitaxel were analyzed to evaluate risk factors for paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. Age was associated with neuropathy risk, with a 5% increase in the risk of grade 3 neuropathy with each 1-year increase in age. Patients taking cardiovascular drugs, particularly beta-adrenergic antagonists, were at increased risk of paclitaxel dose reductions. Each concomitant medication was associated with an odds ratio of 1.25 for the risk of dose modification. These factors could be used in a predictive model to accurately predict the risk of dose modification.Patient characteristics, especially age and use of concomitant medications, may be used to assess the risk of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy and allow for individualized therapy.
doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2018-04180 -
Nanoscale blood test could speed cancer detection
British researchers have developed a new technique using nanoscale blood testing to gain more information on patients' cancer by injecting and extracting liposomes and then assessing the biomolecules on the surface. "We hope this technique could be a springboard for further research, from monitoring disease progression or recurrence to identifying which treatment is best for each patient and potentially finding new biomarkers for early diagnosis," said lead author Kostas Kostarelos.
https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/news/blood-t...
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Lumpie, you and other people posting here are doing a great job bringing research articles into the light.
Have you heard of the Project LEAD training course for BC patient advocates? Applications for next year's course are now open and you can apply for need-based scholarships to assist with lodging and travel expenses. I got one of these for this year's event, and it was basically a six-day boot camp where expert lecturers imparted medical knowledge about all aspects of our disease. While, it's held at a classy resort in beautiful La Jolla, the course is full on (around 40 attendees) and you will get to meet the nicest people. I was one of two guys invited.
Anyone wanting more info is welcome to post here or PM me.
2019 Project LEAD®Institute
We are happy to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2019 Project LEAD® Institute, to be held on July 14-19, 2019 in La Jolla, CA.
http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/…/project-lead-inst…
If YOU or a FRIEND/COLLEAGUE have a serious interest in the scientific study of breast cancer and in preparing yourself for advocacy related to the policy-setting and decision-making around breast cancer research, don't miss this opportunity for outstanding training through NBCC's 2019 Project LEAD® Institute. We also encourage you to share this opportunity with your networks.
Project LEAD Institute, a key component of the National Breast Cancer Coalition's Center for Advocacy Training, has been training breast cancer activists for nearly 25 years. This intensive six-day course, together with supplemental NBCC continuing education for LEAD graduates, provides breast cancer advocates with the education and training they need to understand the language and concepts of biology, genetics, epidemiology, immunology, study design, clinical trials, and the unique role advocates play in influencing the research agenda.
Acceptance to the Project LEAD® Institute is a competitive application process so we encourage you to apply now! This is the only time in 2019 that the course will be offered. The application deadline for the course is April 19, 2019 at 5 PM EST. Tuition is free and includes all Institute materials and meals. Applicants must be a member of NBCC. Become an NBCC member now. Applicants can also apply for need-based scholarships to assist with lodging and travel expenses. http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/dona…/join-nbcc.html
We look forward to receiving your application and thank you for your interest in the Project LEAD® Institute!
http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/…/project-lead-inst…0
