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.

Scientists 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 treatment of some forms of breast cancer.

About 8% of breast cancer cases are caused by mutations in tumor suppressor genes, such as breast cancer associated gene-1 (BRCA1). BRCA1 is the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor gene found in inherited breast cancers and BRCA1 mutation carriers have a 50-80% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70. "Although work with animal models of BRCA1 mutation has provided some insight into the many biological processes linked with BRCA1, very little is known about the downstream mediators of BRCA1 function in tumor suppression," says lead study author Dr. Chu-Xia Deng from the Genetics of Development and Diseases Branch at the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers 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 therapy - without any toxicity.

The study, reported 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, treatment-resistant cancer or help prevent cancer recurrence. The researchers also say it might potentially be used in cancer-free women to prevent initial development of these tumors.

Researchers from the U.S. and Canada found that two computer models widely used to determine who should undergo genetic testing for BRCA mutations under predicted mutation frequency in Asian-American women by 50 percent. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes significantly increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and women who learn they have these mutations are encouraged to seek more frequent cancer screening or may undertake other measures to reduce their cancer risk, such as preventive mastectomy or removal of the ovaries.

The incidence of breast cancer among Asians is generally lower than among Caucasians. However, breast cancer rates are increasing in China, Korea and other Asian countries and among Asian immigrants to the United States, which has led to increasing demand for BRCA1/2 mutation testing in this population.

“Our findings indicate that Asian-American women with BRCA mutations may not be referred for genetic testing as often as they should be,” said lead author Allison Kurian, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford University School of Medicine. “While women of Asian descent have, in the past, been at lower risk for breast and ovarian cancers compared with other races, these findings will be important for physicians to keep in mind when assessing whether their Asian-American patients are candidates for BRCA mutation testing.”

The models, called BRCAPRO and Myriad II, are commonly used to determine which patients inquiring about genetic consultation would benefit most from genetic testing for BRCA mutations. These models were initially created using data on BRCA mutations in Caucasians, and some studies have shown these models accurately predicted gene mutation risk in other minority groups, including African-Americans and Hispanics.

For this study, researchers compared the results of the BRCAPRO and Myriad II computer prediction models with the findings of genetic testing in 200 Asian-Americans and 200 matched non-Jewish Caucasians. (Jewish women were excluded from the analysis because of their higher prevalence ofBRCA mutations.) The models accurately predicted the number of Caucasian BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (25 observed versus 24 predicted by BRCAPRO and 25 by Myriad II). However, the models significantly under predicted Asian mutation carriers (49 observed versus 25 predicted by BRCAPRO and 26 by Myriad II). For BRCAPRO, the difference was especially pronounced for Asian BRCA2mutation carriers (26 observed versus only 4 predicted); the Myriad II prediction model does not have the ability to differentiate between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation risk.

The famillies of loved ones with cancer are well aware that chemo causes unwelcome affects to a person's cognitive skills. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University (WVU), researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can stem the memory loss that cancer drugs sometimes cause. The study has just been published in the September issue of the journal Metabolic Brain Disease.

Using adriamycin and cyclophosphamide, two commonly administered chemotherapyterm drugs, rats who were trained to prefer a light room to a dark one forgot their training.

“When animals are treated with chemotherapy drugs, they lose memory,” said Gregory Konat, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and anatomy at WVU. “When we add NAC during treatment, they don’t lose memory.”

NAC is a modified form of the dietary amino acid cysteine chosen for its antioxidant properties.

The enzyme target, Brk, is shown to be an accelerator of HER2-positive tumors

Tumor cells in a particular subset of breast cancer patients churn out too much of a protein called ErbB2 -- also often called HER2 -- which drives the cells to proliferate unchecked. Patients unlucky enough to be in this group -- about one in four -- have poorer prognoses and clinical outcomes than those who don't.

The drugs Herceptin and Lapatinib, prescribed in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, have improved this picture significantly, but leave plenty of room for improvement: they suppress ErbB2 but are effective against less than half of ErbB2-producing tumors. Moreover, patients with tumors that do respond usually develop resistance to these drugs.