26 December 2016 Approximately 75% of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor – we term these breast cancers ER positive (ER+) or hormone-sensitive. Endocrine therapy refers to using medications to exploit this cancer cell property. Tamoxifen is used in premenopausal women and it blocks the estrogen receptor. In post-menopausal women, aromatase inhibitors (AI) are used which prevent estrogen from being produced…
Read more21 December 2016 A study published in JAMA Surgery found that in women with early stage breast cancer, a surgeon recommendation against removal of the unaffected, healthy breast (known as a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy or CPM) often led to the patient not undergoing that procedure. However, if the surgeon did not make a specific recommendation for or against the procedure,…
Read more13 December 2016 A study published in the journal Cancer concluded that women with larger social networks have better breast cancer (BC) outcomes. In noting that large social networks predict lower overall mortality in healthy populations, the researchers analyzed a group of women who were already participating in four cohort studies. They evaluated associations between social networks within 2 years…
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