Breast Cancer Advances
The January/February issue of Health magazine spotlighted four new advances in the battle against breast cancer…
1. Breast-cancer fighting drug, Herceptin, from bioresearch firm Genentech cut the risk of breast cancer recurrence by more than half after 3 years in a clinical trial of the drug. The trials was halted last year because the results were so striking that scientists decided to give all the volunteers involved a chance to switch over to the drug.
2. While there are many reasons to cut the fat from our diets, there is one more now. Women in a low-fat eating group with a specific form of breast cancer cut their risk of recurrence by 42%. Follow-up studies will be done but more than ever, we see reasons for cutting out the extra fat in our diets. This possible new evidence is just one more motivation to do so.
3. Digital mammography is not as pervasive yet but studies show that the digital technology picked up 15-28% more cancers than traditional equipment. Apparently only 8% of mammography units are digital but this new evidence should do wonders to encourage future purchases.
4. A genetic screening test called Oncotype DX analyzes 21 breast cancer-related genes by looking at cells taken from a tumor. Last May researchers said that Oncotype DX could predict “how likely individual women are to experience a breast cancer recurrence, based on the genetic profile of the tumor,”. 
Dr. Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book, says “With breast cancer in the past, everyone got the same treatment. Now we know there are different forms of the disease that respond to different kinds of treatment. With this test, for the first time, we have a way to begin to sort out who should get which therapy.”
For complete details, run out and grab Health yourself.