Gian Paolo Andreoletti, MD, Editor-in-Chief  -  paolo.andreoletti@senology.it

Literature Selection

• Thorpe H et al.: "Timing of breast cancer surgery in relation to menstrual cycle phase: no effect on 3-year prognosis: The ITS Study", Br J Cancer. 2007 Dec 18; [Epub ahead of print]
• The Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) Trialists' Group: "Effect of anastrozole and tamoxifen as adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer: 100-month analysis of the ATAC trial", Lancet Oncol. 2007 Dec 14; [Epub ahead of print]
• Buijs C et al.: "Prospective study of long-term impact of adjuvant high-dose and conventional-dose chemotherapy on health-related quality of life", J Clin Oncol. 2007 Dec 1;25(34):5403-9
• Bertelsen L et al.: "Effect of Systemic Adjuvant Treatment on Risk for Contralateral Breast Cancer in the Women's Environment, Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology Study", J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Dec 25; [Epub ahead of print]
• Miller K et al.: "Paclitaxel plus Bevacizumab versus Paclitaxel Alone for Metastatic Breast Cancer", N Engl J Med. 2007 Dec 27;357(26):2666-2676
• Bonnefoi H et al.: "Validation of gene signatures that predict the response of breast cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a substudy of the EORTC 10994/BIG 00-01 clinical trial", Lancet Oncol. 2007 Dec;8:1071-78
• Jakesz R et al.: "Extended Adjuvant Therapy With Anastrozole Among Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients: Results From the Randomized Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group Trial 6a", J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Dec 11; DOI 10.1093/jnci/djm246
• Bollet MA et al.: "Responses to concurrent radiotherapy and hormone-therapy and outcome for large breast cancers in post-menopausal women", Radiother Oncol. 2007 Dec;85(3):336-45
• Miglioretti DL et al.: "Radiologist Characteristics Associated With Interpretive Performance of Diagnostic Mammography", J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Dec 11; [Epub ahead of print]

Editorials

• "Sarcomas of the breast" - Yazid Belkacémi, Oscar Lambret Center, Lille, France; University of Lille II, Lille, France
  
  "The Rare Cancer Network (www.rarecancer.net) study on breast sarcoma is the largest retrospective review of breast sarcomas published in the literature. Data from 103 patients have been collected in a retrospective multicenter study. The patients’ characteristics are similar to those reported in other publications, according to sex-ratio, mean age at diagnosis, and tumour size. Sarcoma of the breast is mainly a feminine tumour, and male cases usually represent less than 5% of primary breast sarcomas. Mean age is between 47 and 52 years, and mean tumour size is comprised between 5.5 and 5.7 cm. In the literature, tumour size as well as histological grade, which are classical prognostic factors of common soft tissues sarcomas, were variably found to influence recurrence and survival of sarcomas of the breast. In our report, there were 42 angiosarcomas. (...). In multivariate analysis, favorable prognostic factors for local control were: no residual tumor after treatment, no cellular pleomorphism, and histology other than angiosarcoma. For disease-free survival, the five favorable prognostic factors were non-menopausal status, no residual tumor after treatment, non-angiosarcoma histology, absence of tumour necrosis, and grade 1-2 histology. In conclusion, angiosarcoma has a dramatical prognosis. The outcome of the other types of sarcomas may be worsened by residual tumor after loco-regional therapy and high grade histology, a classical prognosis factor of the other soft tissue sarcomas. In surgical procedure axillary dissection is not mandatory".
  (Comment on paper:  Bousquet G et al.: "Outcome and prognostic factors in breast sarcoma: A multicenter study from the rare cancer network", Radiother Oncol. 2007 Dec;85(3):355-61)

Press Releases

• "Drug combination shrinks breast cancer metastases in brain" - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA - www.dana-farber.org

• "High-Dose Chemotherapy, Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Shows Little or No Survival Benefit as Adjuvant Therapy for Node-Positive Breast Cancer - Definitive Study Reviewed 15 Randomized Studies of Controversial Treatment" - University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA - www.mdanderson.org

30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

• 30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 13-16, 2007 - Abstracts - www.sabcs.org

Healthcare Companies News

• (For Italian subscribers): Herceptin - Nuova indicazione terapeutica - Roche

Calendar of Events

• 1st Asian Breast Cancer Congress, Feb 9 - 10, 2008, New Delhi, India
• 25th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Feb 20 - 23, 2008, Orlando, FL, USA

Literature Selection

• Pollak KI et al.: "Oncologist communication about emotion during visits with patients with advanced cancer", J Clin Oncol. 2007 Dec 20;25(36):5748-52
• Oerlemans ME et al.: "A meta-analysis on depression and subsequent cancer risk", Clin Pract Epidemol Ment Health. 2007 Dec 3;3(1):29 [Epub ahead of print]
• Farooqui M et al.: "COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib prevents chronic morphine-induced promotion of angiogenesis, tumour growth, metastasis and mortality, without compromising analgesia", Br J Cancer. 2007 Dec 3;97(11):1523-31
• Chu TF et al.: "Cardiotoxicity associated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib", Lancet. 2007 Dec 15;370(9604):2011-9
• van der Pols JC et al.: "Childhood dairy intake and adult cancer risk: 65-y follow-up of the Boyd Orr cohort", Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1722-9
• Quasar Collaborative Group: "Adjuvant chemotherapy versus observation in patients with colorectal cancer: a randomised study", Lancet. 2007 Dec 15;370(9604):2020-9
• Marinaccio A et al.: "Analysis of latency time and its determinants in asbestos related malignant mesothelioma cases of the Italian register", Eur J Cancer. 2007 Dec;43(18):2722-8
• Edwards CG et al.: "Occupational noise exposure and risk of acoustic neuroma", Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Dec 1;166(11):1252-8
• de Crevoisier R et al.: "Exclusive radiotherapy for primary squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina", Radiother Oncol. 2007 Dec;85(3):362-70
• Woodward ER et al.: "Annual surveillance by CA125 and transvaginal ultrasound for ovarian cancer in both high-risk and population risk women is ineffective", BJOG. 2007 Dec;114(12):1500-9
• Patz ER Jr et al.: "Panel of serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of lung cancer", J Clin Oncol. 2007 Dec 10;25(35):5578-83
• Pommier P et al.: "Is there a role for pelvic irradiation in localized prostate adenocarcinoma? Preliminary results of GETUG-01", J Clin Oncol. 2007 Dec 1;25(34):5366-73
• Margulis V et al.: "Oncological efficacy and safety of nephron-sparing surgery for selected patients with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma", BJU Int. 2007 Dec;100(6):1235-9