Analyses - National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund

Analyses

15-year Survival Gains from Standard Adjuvant Treatments for Early Breast Cancer: A New Meta-Analysis

A large meta-analysis published in the May 14, 2005 issue of The Lancet medical journal provides long-term follow-up data on recurrence and survival of 145,000 women with early breast cancers who participated in 194 randomized, prospective world-wide clinical trials of adjuvant systemic therapies. Studies included in the analysis were started no later than 1995, so that the newest studies provided at least 5-years of data, and the older ones provided 10-year or 15-year follow-up.

ACRIN Release of Data of Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST): NBCCF's Reaction

The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) released data on a large clinical study that compared the diagnostic accuracy between digital and film mammography. Participants in this study, the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST), underwent both digital and film mammography. The study primarily aimed to detect a difference in the performance of the two technologies for the entire cohort of participants. DMIST also aimed to detect differences in performance for prespecified subgroups that included age, breast density, menopausal status, race, risk of breast cancer and machine brand.

Adjuvant Trastuzumab (Herceptin®) Combined with Chemotherapy Increases Disease-free Survival and Overall Survival for Women with HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer

Data published in the Oct. 20, 2005, online edition of The New England Journal of Medicine show significant and clinically important improvements in disease-free survival and overall survival for women with HER2-positive early breast cancer who were given trastuzumab (Herceptin®) in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy. These data were derived from two randomized, prospective Phase III clinical trials that involved 3,351 women. In April 2005, the trials were stopped early after their first interim data analyses showed better-than-expected results for groups getting trastuzumab.

AHRQ's Report Finds That Imaging Tests Cannot Reliably Be Used To Diagnose Breast Cancer After An Abnormal Mammogram

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released a report, Effectiveness of Noninvasive Diagnostic Tests for Breast Abnormalities, that found four commonly used imaging tests (positron emission tomography (PET) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), scintimammography (nuclear medicine imaging), and ultrasound) cannot reliably be used to rule out the need for a surgical biopsy after an abnormal mammogram

Analysis of EARLY ACT

March 23, 2009

Analysis of “Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009” (EARLY Act)

It is laudable that Congress continues to care deeply about breast cancer and strives to address it. However, it is vital that Congressional action is the right action that helps and does not harm the public and is a responsible use of federal funding and outreach. Unfortunately, the bill at issue is based on several false premises, contains incorrect information, and will not achieve these goals. The bill is addressed to a population of women in whom breast cancer is rare, and presumes we know what to tell these women about prevention, risk reduction and early detection. We do not. If we believe a public campaign to this population is important, we need scientific inquiry to find the answers to these questions before we launch any public campaign.

Analysis of USPSTF 2009 Revised Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations

November 16, 2009- In trying to deal with the toll that breast cancer continues to take in our country, the public has followed the lead of public health officials and increasingly put their faith in screening and early detection, though we have never had good evidence that this would have a significant impact. The over-emphasis on the importance of screening, despite a lack of strong evidence, has been elevated to such a degree that some even equate screening with prevention of breast cancer. The National Breast Cancer Coalition hopes that today’s release of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised recommendations will put the brakes on this run-away train and will put screening and its limitations into proper perspective.

California EPA Concludes that Environmental Tobacco Smoke Causes Breast Cancer

The California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Resources Board issued a report in March 2005, concluding that both active smoking and passive exposure to second-hand smoke are causally associated with breast cancer.
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Clinical Trial Compares Two Breast Cancer Screening Options - October 2000

The first breast cancer screening trial to compare mammography plus physical examination to physical examination alone in 50-59 year old women was published in the September 20th, 2000 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. All of the previous clinical trials of mammography compared mammography screening to no screening.
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Decline in Breast Cancer Mortality

Several newspaper articles have announced that 'new research' has shown a 'sudden' decline in breast cancer mortality rates. These articles in the popular press are based on a short correspondence letter -- not a peer-reviewed study -- that was published in the May 20th, 2000 issue of The Lancet medical journal. The statements in the news articles are somewhat misleading.
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Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program

The Era of Hope meeting, held most recently in Philadelphia in June 2005, is a forum for review and reporting on breast cancer research that has been funded through the United States Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). It is a conference attended by researchers whose studies have been funded by the program, experts in breast cancer research and clinical oncology, and consumer advocates. The 2005 meeting included more consumers, representing more organizations than ever before, and their contributions during the meeting demonstrated that consumer involvement is key to the success of this important program.

FinHer Study Finds That Short Course of Herceptin Might Be Effective Against Breast Cancer Recurrence and Also Limit Heart Damage

A 3-year interim analysis of the FinHer (Finland Herceptin) study, published in the February 23, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that adjuvant treatment with docetaxel (Taxotere®) prior to chemotherapy significantly decreases recurrence in women with node-positive or high-risk node-negative early stage breast cancer compared to vinorelbine (Navelbine®). A planned subgroup analysis of HER2-positive patients found that adding a nine-week course of trastuzumab (Herceptin®) to Taxotere or Navelbine prior to chemotherapy also significantly improved recurrence-free survival.

Highlights from the 2006 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

This meeting of U.S. and international breast cancer researchers, physicians and consumers was held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas and took place on December 14-17, 2006. The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is sponsored by the San Antonio Cancer Institute.
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Highlights from the July 2006 ASCO Annual Conference

The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) took place on June 2 - 6, 2006. This fact sheet summarizes some of the more important breast cancer research results presented at the meeting. The ASCO abstract number is listed at the end of each summary. These abstracts can be viewed online at the ASCO website.
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Lancet Meta-Analysis on Radiotherapy for Early Breast Cancer - October 2000

Breast cancer activists have always questioned breast cancer mortality data. Anecdotally, many NBCC members have known women who died of heart disease that was brought on by the treatment they received for their breast cancer. Yet, their deaths were recorded as deaths from heart disease, not breast cancer. Until now, there have been little scientific data to support activists' beliefs that breast cancer deaths are underreported as such. A meta-analysis of radiation treatment (radiotherapy) for early breast cancer published in the May 20th, 2000 issue of the Lancet gives support to concerns in this area. The meta-analysis combined data from 20,000 women who participated in 40 randomized trials. Each trial compared some type of surgery (mastectomy or breast conservation) alone to the same type of surgery plus radiotherapy.

Letrozole (Femara®) versus Tamoxifen (Nolvadex®) in the Adjuvant Setting

Adjuvant treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Femara®)1 has been found to slightly improve disease free survival among postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor positive, early breast cancer compared to tamoxifen.
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Low-Fat Diet Does Not Decrease Breast Cancer Risk, According to Study

A diet study carried out as part of the Women's Health Initiative found no overall decrease in breast cancer incidence among postmenopausal women who reduced their total fat intake and increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables compared to women who did not change their diet.
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Magnitude of Risk Among Carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutations Questioned

Questions about the accuracy of estimates published in 2003 of lifetime risk for developing breast or ovarian cancer among Ashkenazi Jewish women carrying one of three specific inherited mutations for BRCA1 or BRCA2, were raised in letters from two groups of researchers published in the December 24, 2004 issue of Science.
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MRI Breast Cancer Screening for High-Risk Women

A study in the July 29, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine compared the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with mammography for detecting breast cancer in high-risk women. The study findings show that MRI appears to be more sensitive than mammography in detecting tumors in women with an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer. However, MRI also was more likely to find "suspicious" items that ultimately turned out not to be cancer, resulting in a relatively high rate of false positives.

MRI Screening of Contralateral Breast in Newly Diagnosed Patients: Benefits and Risks

It has been shown previously that women with unilateral breast cancer (in one breast) have an increased risk of cancer in the contralateral (opposite) breast. A study published in the March 29, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine examined whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is better than mammography and clinical breast exam in detecting contralateral breast cancer among women with recently diagnosed unilateral breast cancer. The findings indicate that MRI was able to detect contralateral breast cancers that mammography and clinical breast exam did not detect. However, such MRI use also resulted in many additional biopsies being performed as a result of suspicious MRI findings that were not found to be cancerous.

NBCC Comments on the IOM Report Examining the Quality of Cancer Survivorship Care

A recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, titled From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, makes ten recommendations to address the gap in health care between primary treatment and post-treatment care experienced by individuals diagnosed with cancer. These recommendations are the result of deliberations by the IOM's National Cancer Policy Board Committee on Cancer Survivorship which is composed of clinicians, policy researchers, public health professionals, consumer advocates, and medical scientists.

NBCC Statement on Mammography Screening

National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has been empowering women to make informed, educated decisions regarding breast cancer risk reduction and treatment since 1991. NBCC embraces a philosophy of evidence-based health care, and believes women are capable of understanding complex messages and making their own decisions. As breast cancer activists, NBCC welcomes discussion of the effectiveness of all breast cancer interventions.

New England Journal of Medicine Reports the Use of Gene Expression Analysis to Predict Metastasis and Survival

One of the hottest issues in breast cancer research today is the search for molecular targets that can be applied to individual women's diagnosis and treatment. Today, treatment decisions and prognoses are based on characteristics such as tumor size, lymph node status, receptor status, and the qualities of the cells within the tumor. However, women who are similar in terms of these indicators do not all get the same benefits from treatment. Scientists are now trying to identify gene expression profiles (gene activity patterns) that tell us more about the qualities of individual tumors: how likely they are to be invasive, how well they will respond to different treatments, and how new treatments can target them.

Radiation Therapy Shown to Decrease the Risk of Local Recurrence and Mortality in Some Breast Cancer

A report published in the December 17, 2005 issue of The Lancet found that certain women who underwent radiation therapy post-surgery significantly reduced their chances of breast cancer recurrence, and in some instances mortality, versus women who did not have radiation therapy.
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Rate of New Breast Cancer Cases Diagnosed in the U.S. Has Stabilized

This year's annual report on the status of cancer estimated that the incidence of breast cancer cases in the U.S. has leveled off for the first time since 1980. The report also confirms a continuing decline in the number of deaths due to breast cancer, a trend seen since 1990.
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Red Meat Intake and Breast Cancer Risk: An Analysis

Previous epidemiologic studies on the association between red meat intake and breast cancer risk have not only been inconclusive but have usually examined diet in midlife or later. This study, published in the November 13, 2006 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, is one of the first studies to assess red meat consumption and breast cancer incidence in young, premenopausal women.
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Report From The 2005 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium - December 8-12, 2005

This meeting of U.S. and international breast cancer researchers, physicians and consumers was held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is sponsored by the San Antonio Cancer Institute.
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STAR Trial: Raloxifene versus Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer Risk Reduction

The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) Trial sought to determine whether raloxifene (Evista®) was as effective as tamoxifen (Nolvadex®) in reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer among postmenopausal women at increased risk of developing the disease.
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Study Finds Young African American Women More Likely to Develop Basal - Like Type of Breast Cancer

An analysis of the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, published in the June 7, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that young African American women with breast cancer are more likely to have an aggressive form of the disease compared with older African American and non-African American patients.
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Study Linking Antibiotic Use and Breast Cancer Raises More Questions Than Answers

A study in the February 18, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that antibiotic use may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. However, the findings do not prove that antibiotic use causes breast cancer.
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Study Shows Computer-Aided Mammograms Do Little to Enhance Breast Screening Process

Although computer-aided mammography is rapidly gaining acceptance, there is little data actually demonstrating its benefit in a clinical setting. A study published in the February 4, 2004 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute assessed changes in mammography recall and cancer detection rates after the introduction of a computer-aided detection system (CAD). According to study findings, both recall rates and breast cancer detection rates were relatively similar for mammograms interpreted with or without CAD. Therefore, no significant benefit was found.

Study Shows Recent Changes in Breast Cancer Rates - July 2001

Each year, researchers from several collaborating institutions analyze cancer statistics in the United States and publish a report on their findings. This year's report was recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and it contains some interesting information about recent trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality rates. Breast cancer incidence rate is the number of women per 100,000 women in the U.S. who get diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast cancer mortality rate is the number of women per 100,000 women in the U.S. who die of breast cancer each year.

Tamoxifen Use in Healthy Women: Risks and Benefits

When the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (a.k.a. BCPT or P-1) was completed, the results were widely publicized. The trial revealed that tamoxifen could reduce the 5-year incidence of breast cancer in women who have an increased risk of breast cancer. It also revealed that there are serious adverse effects associated with tamoxifen use. So, how does a woman who does not have breast cancer weigh the potential risks and benefits of the drug in order to decide whether to take it? This is a difficult task, particularly because the risks and benefits of tamoxifen depend on the age, health, and risk factors of an individual woman. Also, the BCPT ended before data on mortality could be obtained. Nevertheless, researchers have made an early attempt to quantify and weigh the various effects of tamoxifen in women who have an increased risk of breast cancer.

Theratope Vaccine Trial for Metastatic Breast Cancer Completed

For the past several years, NBCCF has partnered with the Canadian company Biomira on the pivotal Phase III trial of the Theratope vaccine for women with metastatic breast cancer. Theratope mimics a protein expressed by cancer cells, which may activate the immune system to recognize and selectively attack cancer. On June 16, 2003, Biomira announced that the Theratope vaccine did not meet the predetermined endpoints of improved time to disease progression or overall survival for the women enrolled. One pre-stratified subset within the treatment group, women on hormonal treatment following chemotherapy, is going to be evaluated further to examine the possibility of a survival benefit. It is not possible to determine whether such a benefit exists based upon this first analysis of the data alone.