By: Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science From: medicalxpress.com Cancer spreading beyond the primary tumor—a process known as metastasis—is responsible for at least two-thirds of cancer deaths. Drugs targeting metastatic progression have largely failed, in part because of the lack of predictive models that would help identify the underlying mechanisms of metastasis. While animal models have led to …
Study Suggests Way to Improve Treatment of Hereditary Breast Cancer
By: Robin Lally From: columbia.edu PARP inhibitors have improved survival of breast cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, but the drugs eventually stop working and the cancer returns. A new study of cancer in mice now suggests that a second cancer drug may be able to prevent or delay relapse. “The problem so far has been that the response to PARP …
“Stage Zero” Breast Cancer: What’s the Optimal Treatment for DCIS?
From: cuimc.columbia.edu Before the advent of routine mammography, DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) was rarely detected. But today, DCIS accounts for 20% of breast cancer diagnoses and would be the fifth most common cancer in women if classified independently. Often called “stage zero breast cancer,” DCIS growths are confined to the inside of the breast’s milk ducts, and many never …
NIR light may identify breast cancer patients who will benefit most from chemotherapy
Source: Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science From: sciencedaily.com A new optical imaging system developed at Columbia University uses red and near-infrared light to identify breast cancer patients who will respond to chemotherapy. The imaging system may be able to predict response to chemotherapy as early as two weeks after beginning treatment. Findings from a first pilot study …
Device Lets Cancer Patients Assist in Their Own Breast Reconstruction, at Home
By: Emily Mullin From: technologyreview.com/ A needleless, remote-controlled device for tissue expansion is awaiting FDA approval. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2015, Cindy Shanker, 67, of Los Gatos, California, got a double mastectomy on the advice of her oncologist. A few months later, her surgeon asked if she wanted to join a clinical trial for an experimental …