Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

In a new UCSF study of more than 2 million mammogram screenings performed on nearly 700,000 women in the United States, scientists for the first time show a direct link between reduced hormone therapy and declines in ductal carcinomaterm in situ (DCIS) as well as invasive breast cancer. The researchers saw such a striking decrease, they believe they also have uncovered indirect evidence that hormones promote breast tumor growth.

 PITTSBURGH, Nov. 29 – Breast cancers that arise sporadically, rather than through inheritance of certain genes, likely start with defects of DNA repair mechanisms that allow environmentally triggered mutations to accumulate, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Lasofoxifene statistically reduced the overall risk of breast cancer, as well as ER positive invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women with low bone density, according to a study published online in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

BOSTON – The discovery that a protein called Rictor plays a key role in destroying a close cousin of the AKT oncogene could provide scientists with a new molecular target for treating certain cancers, including breast cancer. Described in the September 2010 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, the study was led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

(Boston) - Investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have reported that African American women who consume more vegetables are less likely to develop estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer than women with low vegetable intake. The study results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, were based on data from the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS), a large follow-up study of 59,000 African American women from across the U.S. conducted by investigators at the Slone Epidemiology Center since 1995.

New research uncovers a case of mistaken identity that may have a significant impact on future breast cancer prevention and treatment strategies. The study, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, suggests that despite their "stem cell-like" characteristics, most aggressive breast tumors are not derived from normal mammary gland stem cells.

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SEATTLE – For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have identified and isolated adult mammary stem cells in mice. Long-term implications of this research may include the use of such cells to regenerate breast tissue, provide a better understanding of the role of adult stem cells in breast cancer development, and develop potential new targets for anti-cancer drugs.

A new study of breast cancer patients at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and the Arizona Oncology Services shows that after almost two years, the radiation given with the Strut-Adjusted Volume Implant (SAVI™) controls the rate of cancer and may reduce the complications seen with alternate types of brachytherapy. This study also demonstrates the accuracy and flexibility of the device to maximize the dose to the target tissue and minimize the exposure of healthy surrounding tissue and organs.

NEW YORK, July 13, 2010 – The decision regarding treatment following breast-conserving surgery for patients diagnosed with ductal carcinomaterm in-situ (DCIS) has long been an area of discussion and confusion for patients and physicians alike. While the mortality rates for DCIS remain low, the risk of local recurrence in the breast is high. Standard treatments following surgery include radiation therapy and hormone treatment.

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A new study is providing insight into how estrogen fuels many breast cancers, and researchers say the findings could lead to new cancer-fighting drugs.

Researchers found that estrogen inhibits a protein called MLK3 that causes normal cell death. Blocking MLK3 leads to uncontrolled growth of cancer cells and resistance to chemotherapyterm.

Researchers from Loyola University Health System and three other centers reported the findings in the journal Cancer Research.

(PHILADELPHIA) Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have found a mechanism by which a hormone responsible for milk production blocks an oncogene that makes breast cancer more aggressive.

Publishing in the journal Cancer Research, the researchers discovered that prolactin, a pituitary hormone that normally stimulates breast development and milk production, in fact reduces levels of an oncogene called BCL6. The BCL6 protein has previously been shown to play a role in poorly differentiated breast cancer, which carries a poorer prognosis.

A new study in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies (Vol. 8, No. 3: September 2009) points to a benefit for women with breast cancer that pursue the Transcendental meditation technique.

Washington, DC – Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) are voicing alarm that drugs to treat a wide variety of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases now in human clinical trials may errantly spur development of breast tumors.