Category:
Medical Studies
Importance of HER-2/Neu Positivity as Predictor of Outcome in DCIS Remains Controversial
SAN ANTONIO-HER-2/neu testing in DCIS is controversial: Does this test provide useful information? Is HER-2 positivity a predictor of recurrence? Is the test worth the extra cost? Two posters at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Study presented studies that came to different conclusions.
The first suggested that HER-2/neu overexpression was a predictor of invasive recurrence, and the second study said it was not predictive of outcome.
On closer inspection, however, the studies had important differences, suggesting that in fact, HER-2/neu positivity may be associated with recurrence of invasive cancer. The controversy will not be resolved until more definitive studies are conducted.
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2007/04 |
Category:
Medical Studies
Importance of HER-2/Neu Positivity as Predictor of Outcome in DCIS Remains Controversial
SAN ANTONIO-HER-2/neu testing in DCIS is controversial: Does this test provide useful information? Is HER-2 positivity a predictor of recurrence? Is the test worth the extra cost? Two posters at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Study presented studies that came to different conclusions.
The first suggested that HER-2/neu overexpression was a predictor of invasive recurrence, and the second study said it was not predictive of outcome.
On closer inspection, however, the studies had important differences, suggesting that in fact, HER-2/neu positivity may be associated with recurrence of invasive cancer. The controversy will not be resolved until more definitive studies are conducted.
At this time, HER-2/neu testing should not be considered part of routine care for ductal carcinoma in situ, said Henry Kuerer, MD, PhD, Director of Breast Surgical Oncology Training at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
DCIS is currently overtreated, he said, and he and his colleagues are looking at DCIS in a prevention setting-that is, we perform surgery, radiation, and administer tamoxifen only to prevent the development of invasive cancer, he said. The jury is still out on whether or not HER-2/neu overexpression is associated with an independent increased chance of local recurrence with invasive breast cancer following a diagnosis of DCIS.
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2007/04 |
Category:
Medical Studies
INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY PLATFORM SEARCH PORTAL
Register for Trials at this site.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: - Histologically confirmed ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - Mixed DCIS and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) allowed - HER2 receptor-positive as determined by central testing - Must have undergone resection by lumpectomy and meets the following criteria: - Margins of the resected specimen must be histologically free of DCIS (re-excision to obtain clear margins allowed) - No more than 120 days since the last surgery for excision of DCIS (lumpectomy or re-excision of lumpectomy margins) - None of the following allowed: - Patients who require mastectomy - Invasive (including microinvasion staged as T1mic) breast cancer (DCIS "suspicious" for microinvasion, but not confirmed, allowed) - Nodal staging of pN1 (including pN1mi) (axillary staging not required) - DCIS present in more than one quadrant (multicentric) - Masses or clusters of calcification that are clinically or mammographically suspicious unless biopsied and proven to be benign - Contralateral breast cancer (including DCIS) - History of breast cancer, including DCIS (history of LCIS allowed) - Hormone receptor status: - Estrogen receptor and/or progesterone receptor-positive or -negative - Must submit tumor block for correlative studies PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: - Pre- or postmenopausal - ECOG performance status 0-1 - Life expectancy = 10 years (excluding diagnosis of DCIS) - Not pregnant or nursing - Negative pregnancy test - Fertile patients must use effective non-hormonal contraception during and for 6 months after completion of treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin®) - No psychiatric or addictive disorders or other conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator, would preclude the patient from meeting the study requirements - No cardiac disease that would preclude the use of study treatment drugs, including, but not limited to, any of the following: - Active cardiac disease - Angina pectoris that requires the use of anti-anginal medication - Ventricular arrhythmias except for benign premature ventricular contractions controlled by medication - Conduction abnormality requiring a pacemaker - Supraventricular and nodal arrhythmias requiring a pacemaker or not controlled with medication - Clinically significant valvular disease - History of cardiac disease - Myocardial infarction documented by elevated cardiac enzymes or persistent regional wall abnormalities on assessment of left ventricular function - Documented congestive heart failure - Documented cardiomyopathy - No uncontrolled hypertension (i.e., systolic BP > 180 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP > 100 mm Hg) (hypertension that is well controlled on medication allowed) - No other nonmalignant systemic disease that would preclude a patient from receiving trastuzumab or radiotherapy or would prevent prolonged follow-up - No other malignancies unless patient has been disease-free = 5 years and at low risk for recurrence, except for treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix, carcinoma in situ of the colon, melanoma in situ, or basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: - See Disease Characteristics - No prior whole or partial breast irradiation - No prior anthracycline chemotherapy for any malignancy - No investigational agents within the past 30 days - No other cancer therapy until the time of first cancer recurrence or second primary cancer
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2010/05 |
Category:
Miscellaneous
Intimacy, Sex and your Love Life
It is very common for women to notice a loss of desire for sex after their breast cancer treatment. The treatment that most commonly affects sexual desire is actually chemotherapy, but any woman who is going through breast cancer treatment may notice changes like that.
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Category:
Medical Studies
Is boost therapy necessary in the treatment of DCIS
Introduction: Whole breast irradiation therapy following lumpectomy for invasive breast cancer (IBC) and non-invasive breast cancer (DCIS) significantly reduces the risk of local recurrence.
Boost radiation therapy to the tumor bed has been proven to additionally lower the risk of recurrence for IBC.
The benefit of boost therapy in patients with DCIS is less certain. We carried out a review of NSABP B-24 to assess the benefit of boost therapy in this randomized trial.
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2008/06 |
Category:
Definition & Diagnosis
Is It Really Duct Carcinoma In Situ?
To the question "Is axillary node staging required in patients with duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast?" there are two possible responses: a short answer and a long one.
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Category:
Miscellaneous
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Cancer Publication
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Category:
Miscellaneous
Legal Aspects of Cancer
Today, the physician who works to diagnose or treat cancer has a difficult dilemma. The patients’ expectations regarding the discovery and cure of their disease often are at odds with the realities of cancer.
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Category:
Miscellaneous
Living Beyond Breast Cancer
DCIS, LCIS Diagnosis May Put Some Women at Higher Risk for Invasive Breast Cancer
LCIS may put women at higher risk for developing invasive breast cancers than previously believed, a new study says. Women with DCIS who are under age 50 or African-American or Latina are at higher risk for developing advanced-stage disease, the study showed. Read more ...
Breast Density May Indicate Risk for Invasive Breast Cancer After DCIS
High breast density may be a risk factor for invasive breast cancer in the opposite breast for women with DCIS, results of a prospective study indicate. Read more ...
DCIS and LCIS Are Focus of April Teleconference
Understand a diagnosis of DCIS or LCIS and gain practical tips to lessen your risk of developing invasive disease. Read more ...
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2007/06 |
Category:
Miscellaneous
Looking into a way to predict breast cancer risk
By Amber Dance
Special to the Los Angeles Times
May 10, 2010
" Breast cancer" is one of the scariest pairs of words a woman can hear. Perhaps that is why so many women opt for the most drastic treatment, a double mastectomy, even when doctors detect a tiny mass that may never cause symptoms. Part of the problem is that doctors have no way to predict which small, early cancers are likely to become invasive (grow and spread) and which ones won't.
That ambiguity is one reason why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the government on health matters, controversially recommended in November 2009 that most women should not get mammograms until age 50 and thereafter have them only every other year. The Task Force noted that many women are being treated for cancers that would have done them no harm — and those treatments can be frightening, painful and harmful of themselves.
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2010/05 |
Category:
Miscellaneous
Loss of Libido
Perhaps the most frustrating change in your sexual life is the loss of libido, of "those urges." You've lost your hair, your breast is altered or gone, you've put on weight, you have no energy, you're tired, you're nauseated, and you hurt in new places. No wonder you're not feeling sexy.
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Category:
Medical Studies
Lymphatic Mapping in DCIS
The appropriateness of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of patients with biopsy diagnoses of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or DCIS with microinvasion (DCISM) has not been established.
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2002/05/01 |
Category:
Medical Studies
Mammographic Predictors of the Presence and Size of Invasive Carcinomas Associated With Malignant Mi
Our objective was to determine the degree with which mammographic features predict the presence and size of invasive carcinomas associated with malignant mammographic microcalcification lesions without a mass.
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2004/10/01 |
Category:
Definition & Diagnosis
Margins of Resection
Negative and positive "margins" or "margins of resection" (the distance between the tumor and the edge of the tissue)
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Category:
Miscellaneous
Medscape
Home Site
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Category:
Miscellaneous
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Cancer Site
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Category:
Medical Studies
Micrometastases in Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsies: The Medical Oncologist's Perspective: To Treat or N
Based on present data, isolated cancer cells or small clusters should be disregarded when making recommendations about adjuvant systemic therapy.
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2003/01/10 |
Category:
Medical Studies
Micrometastases in sentinel lymph nodes of patients with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast have
Background: (Micro-)metastases may be detected in sentinel axillary lymph nodes of patients with in situ carcinoma or small invasive carcinomas of the breast. For some surgeons this is a reason to routinely perform a sentinel node procedure in situations otherwise known to have an excellent prognosis without axillary staging. The incidence and predictive value of these positive nodes is uncertain.
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2003/12/03 |
Category:
Medical Studies
MRI Can Detect Breast Disease Missed By Mammography, Study Shows
Researchers have found that mammography coupled with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is extremely sensitive in the detection of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). DCIS, or early stage breast carcinoma, is a pre-invasive malignancy and MRI may help identify this type of disease, which may not be visible on a mammogram. This study is published in The Breast Journal.
The study examined the medical records of women diagnosed with DCIS, aged 34 to 79 years, who underwent MRI and mammographic examinations during a period of approximately two years. The results revealed 39 sites of pure DCIS in 33 breasts of 32 women. In each of these women, both MRI and mammograms were performed prior to surgery. Of the 33 breasts involved, DCIS was detected by MRI alone in 64 percent, and detected by mammography alone in only 3 percent. MRI and mammography together detected DCIS in 24 percent of breasts; in 9%, DCIS was found at mastectomy but the mammogram and MRI were negative.
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2006/02 |
Category:
Medical Studies
MRI Helps Identify Tumours Hidden by Mammography: Presented at ASBD
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- April 18, 2007 -- Researchers presented new diagnostic techniques in breast cancer screening at the 31st Annual Symposium of the American Society of Breast Disease (ASBD).
While mammography is the most commonly used screening method for breast cancer, according to cancer experts, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has also been shown to be a useful screening tool.
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2007/04 |