The identification of two cellular receptors that likely contribute to the genesis of hormone-dependent breast cancer points the way to new, highly targeted therapies against the disease, says a team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Read the rest of this entry »

Postmenopausal women taking combined hormone replacement therapy have only a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer, but there are much greater chances they will experience the worry of abnormal mammograms or undergo an avoidable breast biopsy than postmenopausal women not taking the drugs, according to a study published Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian women diagnosed with early breast cancer lose, on average, more than a quarter of their typical income during the first 12 months after their diagnosis, according to a study published online February 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read the rest of this entry »

Women using combined hormone therapy had an increased risk of abnormal mammograms and and breast biopsies, a U.S. study found. Read the rest of this entry »

Northeastern University is working with Massachusetts General Hospital on developing new technology to improve the accuracy of breast cancer screening. Read the rest of this entry »

The patient in question is being worked up for suspected multiple myeloma. Patients with multiple myeloma secrete abnormal levels of certain proteins called M protein. The investigation of M protein involve the following steps. First, the M protein is detected using protein electrophoresis.

Second, the nature of the M protein is identified using Immunoelectrophoresis or Immunofixation. Lastly, the amount of M protein  may be quantified using a test known as Single Radial Immunodiffusion or other techniques.

To give a brief background, Protein Electrophoresis is used to seperate out the different protein classes present in blood serum using a small lectric current. The seperated protein classes form different bands, and these are labelled as Albumin, Alpha 1, Alpha 2, Beta, and Gamma. The octors are specifically interested in the Gamma band, and check if this Gamma band on electrophoresis is broad or narrow. Normal patients have a diffuse, broad Gamma band. In patients with multiple myeloma, PEP reveals a single, sharp protein band in the Gamma region.

The initial protein electrophoresis (PEP) of the patient revealed a monoclonal protein band. This strengthened the clinical suspicion of Multiple Myeloma, and the next test, or serum Immunofixation test was ordered.

A brief background of the Immunofixation test: We know that patients of multiple myeloma secrete immunoglobulins. These contain sub-parts called heavy-chains and light-chains. The heavy chains are usually of a type called IgG, may sometimes be IgA, and rarely be IgM, IgD, or IgE. The light chains in multiple myeloma patients are either Kappa or Lambda but not both. Normal patients have both Kappa and Lambda. The Immunofixation test thus identifies the type of light chain that a particular patient has; in this case the test was Kappa positive.

The patient in question should now undergo other routine blood investigations, liver function tests, renal function tests, bone marrow aspirate and biopsy examination, radiological skeletal survey, and serum beta microglobulin test. Treatment should begin after confirming diagnosis and appropriate staging procedures.

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Your brother, unfortunately, has advanced cancer with disseminated disease. He has stage IV lung cancer, with distant metastasis.In such cases, the aim of any treatment is palliation, not cure. As you correctly pointed out, pain management is a very important component of your brother’s treatment plan. The idea is to keep him as comfortable as possible. Principles of palliative care state that he should be given adequate pain relief during end-of-life. Pain clinics in cancer hospitals are well equipped to effectively control pain in a majority of cancer patients.

Your brother is on Decadron, which is a corticosteroid. This drug has been prescribed to reduce brain swelling (cerebral edema) as he has metastatic involvement of the brain. Decadron also has a mild benefit in reducing bone pain.

The other drug he is getting is Oxycontin, which is an opioid analgesic called oxycodone. This is useful in severe cancer related pain syndromes.

Pain-killers in cancer patients are prescribed according to the World Health Organization Three-Step Analgesic Ladder. Your brother is currently on WHO Step 2. Since he is not getting adequate relief, he should be prescribed Step 3 medications. This means that in addition to opioids, he should also receive non-opioid analgesics like ibuprofen, naproxen, or ketorolac. He may also benefit from adjuvant drugs for neuropathic pain (anti-convulsants, antidepressants, etc) and adjuvant drugs for bone pain (bisphosphonates, gallium nitrate, etc).

The approach to his bone pain should include palliative radiation and bisphosphonate therapy. In my experience, bisphosphonates like zoledronic acid are well-tolerated by most patients, and result in moderate reduction in bone pain within a few days.

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Another effective therapy that your treating oncologist or palliative care physician may like to consider is fentanyl trans-dermal patch. This can simply be applied to his skin like a sticker, and changed every 3 days.

His wife too is understandably worried about him, and does not want any harm to occur to his liver. She needs to be counseled and gently explained that these interventions are for his overall benefit, and will make him much more comfortable during his last days. She may then be more willing to accept adequate pain-relief therapy for him.

The symptom worrying you the most is unintentional weight loss, and you would like to rule out cancer as the underlying cause. Another symptom bothering you is that you have to get up a few times at night for urinating.There are many causes of weight loss. Gastro-intestinal causes of weight loss include infections (salmonella etc), infestations (giardia, amebiasis etc), bacterial overgrowth syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic causes (diabetes), short bowel syndrome etc. The predominant symptom in most of these conditions is diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. From your short description, it appears that you do not have significant gastro-intestinal symptoms. Diabetes too has been ruled out in your case.

Hyperthyroidism causes heat intolerance, tremors, palpitations, and weight loss. Your normal Thyroid Profile result rules this out. Prostate Specific
Antigen (PSA) too is normal, and argues against prostate cancer as a cause of your urinary symptoms.

You have undergone imaging of head (because midline meningiomas can cause urinary complaints), abdomen and pelvis (to look for prostate enlargement and any abdominal mass like lymphoma, colon mass etc). The CT scans were normal.

Urine test negative for blood indicates that there is no gross involvement of renal pelvis, ureter, bladder, or urethra by any lesion.

Your appetite is good, and you “feel normal”. These are all good signs.

So now, we have to look harder to find the cause of your weight loss, and rule out less likely causes. These include connective tissue disorders, malabsorption, and colon lesions.

First you need to get all baseline investigations done including hemogram,liver and renal functions, Chest X-ray, HIV serology, HBsAg, routine stool
microscopy, and routine urine microscopy.

Additionally you should get a colonoscopic examination, stool for occult blood, fat estimation and parasites, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),serum LDH, and serum CRP.

From your current symptoms, it is unlikely that cancer is a cause of your weight loss. However, you need to work with your doctors to identify the underlying cause. Are you a smoker? What is your age? Do you have low grade fever? Have you noticed any joint pain or skin rashes? Have you had diarrhea recently? Have you traveled to a foreign country recently? Did your CT scan include a Thorax CT too? Have you noticed the presence of any lymph node swelling?

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If you have an indolent type of lymphoma, you can continue to watch and wait until symptoms develop.  There are indications for starting treatment in indolent type of lymphoma.  However, if your lymphoma is an aggressive type, you may need to undergo treatment.It would be best to go back to your oncologist/hematologist for evaluation of your CT scan result.  Laboratory examinations like determination of serum LDH may be needed.  An elevated level may mean that the lymphoma is in relapse or progressing.

What was the indication for you to have had a splenectomy in the first place? What were your signs and symptoms at that time?

Currently, you are naturally worried if the new findings in the latest CT scan could possibly represent non Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL)relapse.

MRI is superior to CT in detecting subtle soft-tissue pathology. However, in your case, MRI would not clinch the diagnosis, nor provide much additional information to your oncologist. To prove or disprove the relapse of NHL, a biopsy or a cytology study is needed.

As far as imaging studies are concerned, I feel that you may consider getting a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan done. Tumor cells concentrate more glucose than normal cells. In PET scanning, radio-labelled glucose is injected into the patient. If tumor is present, it shows up as a metabolically active spot as it has a higher concentration of radio-active glucose in it.

Thus in your case, a PET scan, ot a combined PET-MRI or PET-CT may give additional information to your doctor.

What is the size of the new lesion detected in the pancreatic tail on CT? Do you have any history of pancreas pathology (like pancreatitis, diabetes, etc)? Do you take alcohol?

Currently do you have any of these signs/symptoms: fever, weight loss, weakness, sweating, abdominal discomfort, or any swollen lymph glands?

It would be advisable to get a complete panel of routine blood tests, including LDH level estimation.

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Early symptoms of ovarian cancer include bloating, abdominal pain, pelvic pain, early satiety (feeling full quickly after beginning a meal), and frequent urination.However, just going by your symptoms, there are many other possibilities which are more likely than ovarian cancer to be the underlying cause in your case.

Symptoms similar to yours may be seen in women eith gastro-intestinal infection/infestation (eg giardiasis or amebiasis) along with musculo-skeletal pain radiating down the leg. Obese woman may also present with breathlessness, abdominal swelling and low back pain radiating to the legs. Women with ovarian cysts too may present with distension and pain.

You need to undergo a medical evaluation and a few tests. I suggest that you get routine blood works (hemogram, renal function tests, and liver function tests), stool examination, X-ray chest, X-ray of the lumbo-sacral
spine, ECG, and an ultrasound of the abdomen. Based on these reports, we can decide on the next course of action. If ovarian involvement is indicated by ultrasound, we can proceed to confirm or refute ovarian cancer.

Also, it would be helpful if you could provide additional details about yourself. What is your age? Do you have a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer? Do you normally suffer from gastritis, heartburn, or belching? Why did you have a colonoscopy done? Have you got symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (frequent passage of stool, diarrhea, constipation) or inflammatory bowel disease (diarrhea, bloating, pain,blood in stool, fever)? Are you a smoker? Have you had cardiac or chest conditions causing breathlessness before? What is your build (slight,normal, or obese)? DO you have back pain? DO you have children? Have you ever injured your back?

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A new study suggests that women who eat diets rich in meat and dairy may have a decreased risk of breast cancer, while those who bulk up on fiber, fruits and vegetables show a lower risk of ovarian cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

When Edison invented the light bulb, did he accidentally spawn a cancer epidemic? It’s certainly starting to look that way. Read the rest of this entry »

Biotech giant Genentech Inc. said Friday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its oncology drug Avastin for the additional use of treating advanced breast cancer, a move that had been eagerly anticipated by investors. Read the rest of this entry »

evacizumab (Avastin) is now approved as a first-line option for patients with metastatic, HER2-negative breast cancer. The approval is based on a phase 3 study (E2100) that found bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 52 percent compared with those treated with paclitaxel alone. Read the rest of this entry »

When Edison invented the light bulb, did he accidentally spawn a cancer epidemic? It’s certainly starting to look that way. In study after recent study, exposure to artificial light has been linked to certain kinds of tumors, especially those in the breast. Read the rest of this entry »

Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries. Read the rest of this entry »

Gene expression technologies show “considerable potential for improving prognostic and therapeutic prediction” in early-stage breast cancer concludes a systematic review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, of the three currently available commercial assays. Read the rest of this entry »

MammoSite®, a delivery system for partial breast irradiation, appears to be an effective treatment for early-stage breast cancer. These findings were recently published in the journal Cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

The incidence of breast cancer in parts of Asia is rising steeply and catching up with rates in the western world, Dr Louis Chow, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Centre for Breast Diseases, UNIMED Institute, Hong Kong told oncologists attending the recent 1st Asian Breast Cancer Conference in New Delhi, India, held February 9th and10th. Read the rest of this entry »

A few decades ago, half of American women diagnosed with breast cancer died of the disease. Today fewer than one in five cases is fatal, according to Dr. Marc Lippman, a nationally recognized breast cancer researcher and professor at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Read the rest of this entry »

Among women, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death. Each year nearly 180,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 40,000 a year die from this disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Viralytics Limited is pleased to announce the publication of pre-clinical research data on the anticancer activity of its lead oncolytic virus candidate, CAVATAK™ (Coxsackievirus A21) on human breast cancers both in vitro and in vivo. Read the rest of this entry »

Women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer, tend to overestimate their risk of recurrence, even though the prognosis is good, researchers say.I Read the rest of this entry »

Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa is seeking African-American women who have pursued or are considering genetic counseling and/or testing. They would like them to complete an anonymous survey available online at Survey Link. Read the rest of this entry »

Elderly women diagnosed with early hormone-positive breast cancer and treated with hormone therapy are more likely to die from causes not related to breast cancer than from breast cancer itself. Read the rest of this entry »

Research has shown that the main metabolite of the insecticide DDT could be associated with aggressive breast cancer tumours, but there has been no explanation for this observation to date. Read the rest of this entry »

Among women at high risk for breast and gynecologic cancers, protection conferred by removing their ovaries and fallopian tubes differs according to their BRCA mutation, researchers reported. Read the rest of this entry »

he Medipattern Corporation is pleased to announce the publication of a study showing a significant increase in diagnostic accuracy when using B-CAD v2 on lesions less than 1 cm in size (B-CAD v2 is only available outside the United States). Read the rest of this entry »

Many women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) have inaccurate perceptions of their breast cancer risks, according to a study published online February 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read the rest of this entry »

The World Conference on Breast Cancer is a 5-day event that brings together survivors, advocates, healthcare professionals and researchers from all over the world. Delegates benefit from interactive workshops, conference speakers, and poster presentations. Read the rest of this entry »