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Low-dose Estrogen Effective for Metastatic Breast Cancer
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Story originally posted on www.musclemagfitness.com Using estrogen-lowering drugs is a treatment method for controlling metastatic breast cancer. This breast cancer treat According to the research not only did estrogen treatment often stop breast cancer progression in 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-estrogen treatment, but in some patients metastatic breast cancer tumors became resensitized and again responded to anti-estrogen treatments. The results are reported in the Aug. 19, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. " "The women in the study had all experienced a relapse while on estrogen-lowering drugs, and their breast disease was progressing," says lead author Matthew J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., an oncologist with the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "So they were faced with undergoing chemotherapy. We found that estrogen treatment stopped breast cancer progression in many patients and was much better tolerated than chemotherapy would have been." Sixty-six postmenopausal women with breast cancer that had spread beyond the breast participated in the study conducted by the Siteman Cancer Center with support by the University of Chicago, Case Western Reserve University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center. " All participants were originally diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive (ER ) breast tumors, meaning estrogen stimulated tumor growth. Seventy-five percent of breast cancer cases are ER . All participants had received aromatase inhibitor treatment, which severely lowers estrogen levels, but their metastatic tumors had later reappeared or resumed growing. The breast cancer study compared a high 30-milligram daily dose of estrogen to a low 6-milligram daily dose, and evaluated how well the treatments controlled the women's metastatic breast cancers and how the breast cancer treatments affected their quality of life. The high dose results in estrogen levels in the blood comparable to that of pregnant women, while the low dose gives estrogen levels similar to that of women who are ovulating, Ellis indicates. In both the high- and low-dose groups about 30 percent of participants experienced a clinical benefit - their tumors either shrank or stopped growing. Interestingly, the researchers demonstrated that they could predict fairly accurately which patients would have this positive response. They conducted standard positron emission tomography (PET) scans before estrogen treatment and 24 hours later. If metastatic tumors flared, or glowed more brightly, in the PET scans after estrogen was started, they were much more likely to be affected by estrogen therapy. In 80 percent of women with PET flare reactions, breast cancer tumors responded to estrogen therapy, and in 87 percent of women without PET flares, breast cancer tumors did not respond to estrogen. The participants filled out questionnaires to indicate whether they had adverse reactions to estrogen during the study. Adverse reactions could include headaches, bloating, breast tenderness, fluid retention, nausea and vomiting. Breast cancer patients receiving the high estrogen dose had more severe side effects. "The older women in the study were, the fewer estrogen-related symptoms they had," says Ellis also professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology. "But overall, we demonstrated clearly that the low dose was better tolerated than the high dose and was just as effective for controlling metastatic breast cancer." In the 30 percent of participants who responded to estrogen, breast cancer tumors often began to grow again after a period of months or years. But in a third of these recurring cases, the researchers showed that the women's tumors had become resensitized to anti-estrogen therapy. The breast cancer tumors shrank or stopped growing when the patients went back on their original aromatase inhibitor treatment. About 40,000 women die of metastatic breast cancer each year, and estrogen therapy could potentially help thousands of women with breast cancer, Dr. Ellis says. Furthermore, Ellis points out that the estrogen therapy is inexpensive, costing less than a dollar a day. |
ment approach is not always effective for women with metastatic 
Walking Can Cut Breast Cancer Recurrence Dramatically
Story originally posted on www.musclemagfitness.com
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Brisk walking - about 3.0 mph on a treadmill - for three to five hours per week, or about 30 minutes a day, can net big benefits for breast cancer survivors, according to Dr. Carolyn Kaelin, a Harvard surgeon, breast cancer survivor and author of The Breast Cancer Survivor's Fitness Plan.
Walking May Reduce Breast Cancer Reoccurrence by up to 40%
Research from The Nurses Health Study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) tracked nearly 3,000 women up to 14 years after their breast cancer diagnosis and found that cardiovascular (cardio) and aerobic exercise reduced the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence and increased the odds of living longer.
"Recurrence rates and deaths from breast cancer decreased by 40 percent among those who exercise at least 3-5 hours per week, compared with those who were sedentary," according to Kaelin. "It does not need to be running a marathon, or biking a century, but rather simply walking briskly most days on a treadmill, at a shopping mall or around a track, that further reduces breast cancer recurrence for those who have been treated for breast cancer. For all women, in addition to physical activity helping to optimize body weight and reduce high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, stroke and diabete, scientific research is more strongly pointing to the positive effects of" cardiovascualr exercise in reducing breast cancer risk and the risks of other forms of cancer, too."
Kaelin, in conjunction with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and CYBEX exercise equipment, is promoting brisk walking and the benefits of cardiovascualr exercise through CYBEX Pink Ribbon Run for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this October.
As part of the CYBEX Pink Ribbon run, Cybex manufactured custom-made pink treadmi
lls which were sold and installed in health clubs, hotels, spas, gyms and other exercise facilities around the country. " CYBEX will donate 10 cents for every mile logged on any pink CYBEX 750T treadmill throughout the month of October 2009 to BCRF.
"This is a great strategic alliance with corporate America and BCRF whose mission is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime," states Myra J. Biblowit, President of the BCRF. "Partnering with CYBEX to promote the importance of exercise is a natural synergy and underscores BCRF's mission to provide critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research and to increase public awareness about good breast health."
There are hundreds of pink treadmills in fitness facilities that will raise funding for breast cancer research and we're also conveying an important message on the benefits of exercise in reducing the risk of breast cancer and for breast cancer survivors," stated Joan Carter, Executive Director of the CYBEX Pink Ribbon Run.
For the latest information on breat cancer prevention, breast cancer treatment, breast cancer diets, living with breast cancer and breast cancer resources click here: http://www.musclemagfitness.com/cancer/breast-cancer/
News Briefs for Cancer Survivors - June 2, 2009
New" lobular" cancer" findings" from" K." Polom" and" co-researchers" published. " After initial mammotomic diagnosis of lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ was found in 31.25% of the cases and atypical lobular hyperplasia in 29.4%. This suggests that lobular neoplasia on core needle biopsy should prompt surgery." " "
Childhood cancer survivors have low but increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder." A new report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) showed that childhood cancer survivors were almost five times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than their siblings who did not have cancer as children. Teen cancer survivors have an increased risk.
Advances in breast cancer." New studies on breast cancer recurrence look at radiation therapy techniques, drugs that may interfere with tamoxifen (Nolvadex), and the removal of lymph nodes (tiny, bean-shaped organs that help fight infection). These studies include a study cited in an article elsewhere on this site."
Childhood cancer survivors not receiving adequate screenings later in life." A second report from the CCSS (Candian Cancer Society) found that not enough survivors of childhood cancer receive screening for colon, skin, and breast cancers. Cancer treatment, especially radiation therapy, may increase the risk of a second cancer. Among the childhood cancer survivors with a higher risk of developing a second cancer, almost 12% received a colonoscopy as recommended, about 46% had a mammogram within two years of treatment, and almost 27% had a skin exam. The study also showed that childhood cancer survivors who had a higher risk of a second cancer were more likely to be screened for breast and skin cancer if they were being cared for at a cancer center.
Caution: Tylenol May Be Lethal and the FDA May Not Warn You
News flash!" Tylenol causes 56,000 emergency room visits and an untold number of deaths per year in the U.S." Despite hospitals' widespread use of Tylenol for pain relief, and thousands of doctors who recommend this over-the-counter drug for their patients, the truth is that Tylenol can kill.
An ABC news article (see http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=7955370&page=1) portrays the FDA as passive regarding this issue, of primary importance to cancer survivors." Many cancer drugs, such as Tamoxifen, can cause liver damage." When these are combined with Tylenol, the result can be fatal." Add alcohol to the mix, and you dramatically increase your chances of liver cancer or failure.
All cancer survivors need to maintain healthy liver function, because the liver produces cells that affect the immune system." Therefore, it is advisable to examine all sources of potential damage to the liver, including the multi-symptom cold and flu remedies, analgesics, and other medications." Ibuprofen and aspiring do not have the same liver-damaging effects.
Pass this information along to someone who's at risk.
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