Researchers have identified some of the elusive downstream molecules that play a critical role in the development and progression of familial breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 10th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, also identifies a compound found in grapes and red wine as an excellent candidate for therapy of some forms of breast cancer........

Birth size, and in particular birth length, correlates with subsequent risk of breast cancer in adulthood, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Associations between birth size, perhaps as a marker of the pre-natal environment, and subsequent breast cancer risk have been identified before, but the findings from epidemiological studies have been inconsistent........

Boston Early-stage patients with breast cancer who receive a more intensive course of radiation to their whole breast over three weeks is as effective as the standard, less intensive five-week whole breast radiation and offers patients more convenience at a lower cost, thereby providing a better quality of life, as per a randomized, long-term study presented September 22, 2008, in the plenary session at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting in Boston........

Scientists at Wayne State University have tested a breast cancer vaccine they say completely eliminated HER2-positive tumors in mice - even cancers resistant to current anti-HER2 treatment - without any toxicity. The study, published in the September 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests the vaccine could treat women with HER2-positive, therapy-resistant cancer or help prevent cancer recurrence. The scientists also say it might potentially be used in cancer-free women to prevent initial development of these tumors........

The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to therapy, said scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer therapys to attributes of the various tumors........

An organized population-based breast cancer screening program in Norway and an approach to screening that relies on physician- and self-referrals in Vermont are equally sensitive for detecting cancer, scientists report in the July 29 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute But the recall rate for abnormal mammograms was lower in Norway........

A University of Michigan study reveals in detail how breast cells produce new cells that are predisposed to become malignant, unless they receive the protective action of the CHFR gene. CHFR expression is missing in more than a third of breast cancers. Analysis of this gene is also a hot area of interest among scientists trying to explain colorectal, stomach, lung and other forms of cancer........

Scientists have discovered a new family of agents that inhibit the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells. The finding, described today at a meeting of the Endocrine Society, has opened an avenue of research into new drugs to combat estrogen-dependent breast cancers. "This cell-based study is exciting because it suggests these compounds are likely to be effective in tumors that remain dependent on estrogen for growth but are resistant to current therapies," said principal investigator David J. Shapiro, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois........

A tiny modification called methylation on estrogen receptors prolongs the life of these growth-driving molecules in breast cancer cells, as per research by researchers at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute. The results are reported in the May 9, 2008 issue of the journal Molecular Cell. Most breast cancers contain estrogen receptors, which enable them to grow in the presence of the hormone estrogen. Their presence can determine whether tumors will respond to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen........

According to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, mammography, the gold-standard for breast cancer screening and early detection, has shown to significantly reduce the risk of being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in women over the age of 80, an age group currently without clear guidelines recommending regular screenings........

A drug that targets the cell surface receptors that play an important role in many types of cancer can bring about significant tumour regression in breast cancer after only six weeks of use, a scientist told the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6). Dr. Angel Rodriguez, from the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA, said that the work demonstrated for the first time that the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib could decrease tumour-causing breast cancer stem cells in the primary breast cancers of women receiving neoadjuvant treatment (treatment given before the primary surgery for the disease)........

The use of MRI is effective in differentiating the blood supply to medial and lateral breast tumors, which is important in therapy planning and prognosis as per a research studyconducted by scientists at the University of Miami in Miami, FL and the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel. Blood supply of medial tumors is mainly through the internal mammary vessels while lateral tumors may be supplied by both the internal or lateral mammary branches........

An international research consortium under the leadership of researchers of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has shown that a common gene variant increases the risk of developing breast cancer. In roughly five to ten percent of breast cancer cases there is a family history of breast cancer- i.e., hereditary and, thus, genetic factors play a role here. Alterations in the genes known as BRCAI and BRCAII are a major cause of familial breast cancer - these are responsible for roughly 25 percent of such cases........

Women whose breast cancer came back after therapy had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood than did women who remained cancer-free despite therapy with anti-estrogen drugs in a majority of the women as per scientists as per a research findings reported in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research........

A new test that examines large sections of the sentinel lymph node for genes expressed by breast cancer could reduce the risk of recurrence and multiple surgeries, doctors say. The GeneSearch Breast Lymph Node Assay, manufactured by Veridex, L.L.C., a Johnson and Johnson company, is being used at the Medical College of Georgia to examine half of the tissue in the sentinel lymph node, the first place breast cancer typically spreads. The sample represents more than 10 times the amount of tissue examined in traditional biopsies........