Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: breast cancer + cancer + treatment  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

Ottawa Citizen Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R) Comments on Christina Applegate's ... MarketWatch - Breast cancer remains a common problem, but with a combination of early detection and effective treatment, the vast majority of women will go on to lead a ... AssociatedPress Breast cancer screenings: How soon to start? WRAL.com Breast cancer rare but possible in young women phillyBurbs.com WebMD - Bild.de all 1,013 news articles » 3 News NZ Herceptin funding increase turned down Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - The government's drug buying agency funds treatment of Herceptin for early stage HER-2 breast cancer for nine weeks, rejecting calls from clinicians and ... Herceptin decision due out TVNZ Pharmac decides not to fund year-long Herceptin course New Zealand Herald PHARMAC reaffirms confidence in 9 week Herceptin treatment Scoop.co.nz (press release) New Zealand Doctor Online - The Dominion Post all 38 news articles » Los Angeles Times Sex After Breast Cancer U.S. News & World Report, DC - Aug 5, 2008 (Some breast cancer survivors use a prescription testosterone gel to restore their sex drive, though this treatment may have risks. ... The emotional side of breast cancer and its treatments Gather.com Breast cancer diagnosis ... and the outcome Los Angeles Times Breast cancer: What you need to know Food Consumer FOXNews all 6 news articles » CTV.ca Prostate cancer rate spurs campaigners So Md News, MD - The county health department in White Plains offers prostate, colorectal, cervical and breast cancer screenings, said Chinnadurai Devadason, the county?s ... Prostate cancer screening - maybe not, says the USA Financial Times Over 75? Skip the Prostate Cancer Screening, Say Experts findingDulcinea Perceived Medical Discrimination May Discourage Cancer Screening MedPage Today New York Times all 769 news articles » BBC News NHS Gives Death Sentence to Kidney Cancer Patients The Market Oracle, UK - The research group "Breakthrough Breast Cancer" reported that as many as a third of GP's are failing to refer patients with suspected breast cancer as ... Pfizer, Roche Cancer Drugs Rejected by UK Agency on Cost Bloomberg Kidney patients denied 'too expensive' life-extending drugs Telegraph.co.uk Uproar as NICE draft rejects four kidney cancer drugs Pharma Times (subscription) all 221 news articles »  PFE - OTC:RHHBY - SWF:RO Young Women May be Underrepresented in Breast Cancer Research ... Newswise (press release) - Newswise ? While the incidence of breast cancer in young women in the US is relatively rare, there are more than 250000 women under the age of forty that ... Micromet, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results Earthtimes (press release), UK - 7 -- Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq: MITI), a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, ...MITI Goldman-Led Genentech's Avastin May Force Higher Bid (Update1) Bloomberg - Success against colon tumors, he said, would mean ``the likelihood of it benefiting breast or lung cancer patients'' as an early-stage treatment ``increases ...DNA - OTC:RHHBY - SWF:RO ?I?m really aware life is precious? WalesOnline, United Kingdom - 56 minutes ago The inspirational Jade, whose mother has had breast cancer, will be among cancer survivors taking part in a lap of honour which will mark the start of the ... San Fernando Valley Sun Olive View Team Takes Steps to Raise Funds to Fight Breast Cancer San Fernando Valley Sun, ca - Breast cancer death rates are going down. This is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and improved treatment. The job of Escobedo and Alvarado ...

Inadequate Treatment of Breast Cancer Deadly for Elderly Women

Swiss researchers report that many elderly women with breast cancer appear to have died because they did not receive full or appropriate treatment for their disease. Their study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Vol.21, No. 19: 3580-3587), reported that breast cancer patients over age 80 who did not receive adequate treatment had a much higher death rate from their cancer than women who did receive proper treatment.

Although we are often struck by the tragedy of young women developing breast cancer, this disease is actually more common in older women. Twenty-two percent of women diagnosed with this cancer in the United States are over age 75.

Many of these women have other illnesses -- high blood pressure, diabetes, or arthritis, for instance -- that may or may not be life-threatening. Because of this, sometimes doctors or the patients themselves are reluctant to consider appropriate cancer treatment, which includes surgery, radiation and drug treatment (chemotherapy).

The Swiss researchers examined the records of 407 women diagnosed with breast cancer who were 80 or older. About half were undertreated. They either did not have any surgery, or had lumpectomy without post-operative radiation.

The researchers could not determine why these women did not receive adequate treatment. One possibility is that the doctors thought the women were too sick to benefit from treatment, or more likely to die of another disease first. The patients themselves may have believed this, too; 14% of them refused some or all of the recommended treatment.

Doctors and patients also may have thought that breast cancer in the elderly is somehow less dangerous than it is in younger women, though that is not necessarily true.

When the researchers examined the survival patterns of these women, they found that less therapy meant a quicker death from breast cancer. The researchers specifically looked at women who died of their breast cancer.

Women who received complete therapy, including surgery and extra treatments such as radiation or drug therapy, had a five-year survival of around 90%. Those receiving no treatment had a five-year survival of around 46%. Women who were given some treatment such as surgery without any additional therapy had survival rates that were between these extremes.

Some doctors or patients are reluctant to consider surgery and instead try to get by using tamoxifen only, because it is noninvasive and easy to administer. Although tamoxifen is an effective anti-breast cancer drug, it is no substitute for surgery. Several studies have shown that the cancer will eventually grow and spread if a tumor isn't first removed surgically, even if the patient continues to take the drug.

The authors point out that the problem of undertreatment may stem from a belief that elderly patients do not tolerate treatment. But they cite several studies that show that these patients tolerate chemotherapy and radiation as well as younger women.

The researchers say doctors need to consider each woman's general health, then provide treatments that "offer the best chance of cure, regardless of age."