Study Shows Mammogram Reminders Work

American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Update

Acupuncture may be just as effective as an antidepressant at reducing the unpleasant side effects associated 
with using hormone therapy for breast cancer, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital Department of 
Radiation Oncology in Detroit, Michigan. What's more, some patients report positive side effects from using the 
ancient practice.

An “American Journal of Surgery” study reveals women facing a recent breast cancer diagnosis may find 
additional cancer in the same or opposite breast with further testing using Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging 
(BSGI). BSGI detected additional or more extensive breast cancer in the same or opposite breast in 10.9 
percent of newly diagnosed patients according to the study. 

An “American Journal of Roentgenology” study shows Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) to be a highly 
sensitive imaging technique for the diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). The study found BSGI 
provides better sensitivity for detecting ILC than mammography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging 
(MRI). 

A gene associated with poor-prognosis breast cancer has been identified by genomic profiling studies that may 
point to a new therapeutic target, investigators here reported.

Scientists have identified two gene mutations that appear to predict a significant increased risk of developing 
thyroid cancer.

Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) has equivalent sensitivity and better specificity than breast MRI in 
patients with inconclusive findings after mammography and ultrasound in the diagnosis of breast cancer, 
according to findings presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America 
(RSNA). BSGI is a molecular breast imaging technique used as an adjunctive tool to mammography that can 
identify lesions independent of tissue density.

Welcome to the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Newsletter, where you'll learn about 
the latest in breast cancer research and treatment, stay informed about new screening 
technologies and preventive strategies, and read inspiring stories of survivorship and hope. 
We'll also tell you how you can get involved in the fight — from volunteering in your 
hometown to taking part in our signature breast cancer event, Making Strides Against 
Breast Cancer.

FDA Approves Anti-Nausea Patch for Chemo Patients:

Cancer patients will soon be able to use a medication patch to ease the debilitating nausea 
that often accompanies chemotherapy.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first anti-nausea patch for 
chemotherapy patients, intended to provide relief for up to five days. The patch, called 
Sancuso, is worn on the arm and delivers a widely used anti-nausea medicine, known as 
granisetron, through the skin. It is expected to be available by the end of the year.

About a million people undergo chemotherapy every year and as many as 70 percent 
develop nausea. If the problem occurs at the hospital, it can be dealt with quickly. But many 
patients suffer from nausea after going home. Anti-nausea pills are available, but some 
cancer patients have trouble swallowing.

Schools Offering Fewer Soft Drinks, Report Says:

Sugary soft drinks accounted for less than a quarter of the beverages sold in schools last 
year, showing that a voluntary transition toward healthier drinks is working, according to the 
beverage industry.

This school year is the final year of a three-year, voluntary program designed to lower the 
calories and portions offered to students through school vending machines.

Bottles of water now take up the largest slice of drinks offered in schools. Bottled waters 
represented 27.6% of the product mix last year, versus 22% the year before and 13% in 
2004.  Part of that change stems from the program's guidelines, but many states also 
banned the sale of soft drinks on school campuses.   Non-diet soft drinks have fallen from 
about 40% of the drinks that bottling companies shipped to schools to about a quarter of the 
mix.

Health officials long have expressed concern that schools contributed to rising obesity rates 
because campus vending machines sold high-calorie and high-sugar snacks and drinks.

In 2006, leading beverage companies agreed to shift toward healthier drinks with fewer 
calories and smaller portions. The plan included the removal of full-calorie soft drinks by the 
2009-2010 school year.

The voluntary guidelines state that elementary and middle school vending machines will only 
sell 100% juice, low-fat milk and bottled water. For high schools, diet sodas, sports drinks, 
waters and teas can be added to the mix.

Fewer U.S. Medical Students Choosing Primary Care:

Only 2 percent of graduating medical students say they plan to work in primary care internal 
medicine, raising worries about a shortage of the first-stop doctors who used to be the 
backbone of the American medical system.

The results of a survey suggest more medical students, many of them saddled with debt, are 
opting for more lucrative specialties.

Just 2 percent of nearly 1,200 fourth-year students surveyed planned to work in primary 
care internal medicine, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical 
Association. In a similar survey in 1990, the figure was 9 percent.

Paperwork, the demands of the chronically sick and the need to bring work home are among 
the factors pushing young doctors away from careers in primary care, the survey found, as 
well as the salary gap with specialists and Medicare’s fee schedule.

On Wednesday, July 16th 2008 an Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was held by the 
website BreastCancer.org on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. George Sledge, M.D. and Beth 
Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered questions about triple-negative breast cancer 
and its treatment.

Plenty of previous research has uncovered physical and psychological benefits to so-called 
expressive writing among diverse groups of patients, including people with chronic illnesses 
such as arthritis and asthma. Most of those studies were done in a controlled, laboratory 
setting. This article discuss a Georgetown study involved patients in an actual hospital setting.

New research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that vitamin D 
supplements may have another benefit: a 60 percent to 77 percent lower risk of cancer.

This page contains information about scholarships for cancer patients, cancer survivors, 
children of a cancer patient or survivor, students who lost a parent to cancer, and students 
pursuing careers in cancer treatment.

Revolution Health cancer expert Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., professor of medicine and professor 
of preventive medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the Keck School of Medicine at 
the University of Southern California, answers questions about pancreas cancer.

This article discusses the issues associated with funding various types of research, and 
discusses vaccines being developed at the University of Iowa.

Removal of the ovaries (oophorectomy) plus tamoxifen, as adjuvant, or "add-on" therapy, 
significantly improves survival in premenopausal women with operable breast cancer, a 
study indicates.

New research suggests that two months of "androgen deprivation" therapy, which reduces 
levels of the androgen, a male hormone, can help slow the growth of locally advanced 
prostate cancer when given before and during radiotherapy.

A team of scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York has identified 
several naturally occurring human microRNAs that prevent breast cancer from spreading 
(metastasizing) to the lung and bone -- the two main sites to which breast usually spreads, 
according to study findings released early by the science journal Nature.

Capecitabine and oxaliplatin are effective alternatives to fluorouracil and cisplatin, 
respectively, for treating advanced esophagogastric cancer, according to a report in The New 
England Journal of Medicine for January 3.

A little more sunshine might help you live longer, according to a study published on Monday 
suggesting that for some people health benefits from the sun outweigh the risk of skin cancer.

People taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be less likely to develop cancer.

Scientists from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York have discovered 
that a handful of tiny scraps of genetic material, known as ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules, 
may control whether or not breast cancer travels to the lung and bone.