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

Best Studies of the Month

• Albain KS et al.: "Adjuvant chemotherapy and timing of tamoxifen in postmenopausal patients with endocrine-responsive, node-positive breast cancer: a phase 3, open-label, randomised controlled trial", Lancet. 2009 Dec 11[Epub ahead of print]
• "Short-term follow-up of palpable breast lesions with benign imaging features: evaluation of 375 lesions in 320 women", AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2009 Dec;193(6):1723-30

Suggest a study

New Evidences

• Passive smoking and risk of breast cancer: "Cumulative exposures to high levels of sidestream smoke may increase breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women"  (Reynolds P et al.: "Passive smoking and risk of breast cancer in the California Teachers Study", Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Dec;18(12):3389-98)

Literature Selection

• Han W et al.: "Relationship between age at diagnosis and outcome of premenopausal breast cancer: age less than 35 years is a reasonable cut-off for defining young age-onset breast cancer", Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010 Jan;119(1):193-200
• Shu X et al.: "Soy food intake and breast cancer survival", JAMA. 2009 Dec 9;302(22):2437-43
• Curigliano G et al.: "Clinical relevance of HER2 overexpression/amplification in patients with small tumor size and node-negative breast cancer", J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec 1;27(34):5693-9
• Cho N et al.: "Preoperative Sonographic classification of axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer: node-to-node correlation with surgical histology and sentinel node biopsy results", AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2009 Dec;193(6):1731-7
• Bruening W et al.: "Systematic Review: Comparative Effectiveness of Core-Needle and Open Surgical Biopsy to Diagnose Breast Lesions", Ann Intern Med.2009 Dec 14 [Epub ahead of print]
• Rakha EA et al.: "Tubular carcinoma of the breast: further evidence to support its excellent prognosis", J Clin Oncol. 2010 Jan 1;28(1):99-104
• Tinterri C et al.: "Conservative surgery with and without radiotherapy in elderly patients with early-stage breast cancer: A prospective randomised multicentre trial", Breast. 2009 Dec: 18(6):351-55
• Byrski T et al.: "Pathologic Complete Response Rates in Young Women With BRCA1-Positive Breast Cancers After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy", J Clin Oncol 2009 Dec[Epub ahead of print]
• Hadji P et al.: "The influence of chemotherapy on bone mineral density, quantitative ultrasonometry and bone turnover in pre-menopausal women with breast cancer", Eur J Cancer. 2009 Dec;45(18):3205-12
• Dawood S et al.: "Prognosis of Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer by HER2 Status and Trastuzumab Treatment: An Institutional-Based Review", J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]
• Spielmann N et al.: "Trastuzumab for Patients With Axillary-Node-Positive Breast Cancer: Results of the FNCLCC-PACS 04 Trial", J Clin Oncol.2009 Dec 20; 27: 6129-6134
• Brinton LA et al.: "Etiologic factors for male breast cancer in the U.S. Veterans Affairs medical care system database", Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010 Jan;119(1):185-92
• Walker EM et al.: "Acupuncture Versus Venlafaxine for the Management of Vasomotor Symptoms in Patients With Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial", J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec 28. [Epub ahead of print]

Comment

• "A significant number of patients show discordant quantitative expression of molecular markers between primary breast cancer and nodal metastases" - Dana Faratian , Edinburgh Breakthrough Research Unit and Division of Pathology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
   
  "I think that our results could be practice changing. As pathologists, we already have nodal tissue available to us from sentinel node biopsy, axillary sampling, or axillary clearance. We can perform the same tests on these tissues as we already do on the primary tissue. Therefore, although there is a cost associated with this, it is relatively small compared to giving the right drug to the right patient. If a node is HER2+, a woman might benefit from Herceptin. In the clinic treatment decisions could be modified for a few people quite quickly. If ER is lost in the nodes, or decreases expression, it might further explain failure of treatment in the context of large endocrine therapy trials. Ultimately the answer to whether this changes outcomes for women need to be tested in a clinical trial "  
  (Comment on: Aitken SJ et al.: "Quantitative analysis of changes in ER, PR and HER2 expression in primary breast cancer and paired nodal metastases", Ann Oncol. 2009 Nov 3. [Epub ahead of print])

Press Releases

• "Mammography May Increase Breast Cancer Risk in Some High-Risk Women" - Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) - RSNA 2009 . www.rsna.org
• "Targeted Breast Ultrasound Can Reduce Biopsies for Women under Forty" - Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) - RSNA 2009 - www.rsna.org
• "Mammography Saves Lives - Breast Cancer Specialists Endorse Annual Mammograms for Women Over 40" - American Society of Breast Disease - www.asbd.org

Healthcare Companies News

• "Important progress in treatment of early and late stage breast cancer with Herceptin, Avastin and T-DM1" - Roche - www.roche.com

Calendar of Events

• 2nd Asian Breast Cancer Conference,  February 6-7, 2010, Bangalore, India
• 27th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Mar 3-6, 2010, Miami, FL, USA
• 7th European Breast Cancer Conferences,  Mar 24-27, 2010, Barcelona, Spain

Best Studies of the Month

• Aizer AA et al.: "Whole pelvic radiotherapy versus prostate only radiotherapy in the management of locally advanced or aggressive prostate adenocarcinoma", Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2009 Dec 1;75(5):1344-9
• Pickles T et al.: "Brachytherapy or Conformal External Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Single-Institution Matched-Pair Analysis", Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2010 Jan;76(1):43-49

Suggest a study

New Evidences

• Cigarette smoking and risk of colorectal cancer:  "Long-term cigarette smoking is associated with colorectal cancer" - (Hannan LM et al.: "The Association between Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort from the United States", Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Dec;18(12):3362-7)

Literature Selection

• Smith-Bindman R et al.: "Radiation dose associated with common computed tomography examinations and the associated lifetime attributable risk of cancer", Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2078-86
• Berrington de González A et al.: "Projected cancer risks from computed tomographic scans performed in the United States in 2007", Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2071-7
• Eilers RE et al.: "Dermatologic Infections in Cancer Patients Treated With Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor Therapy", J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Dec 9 [Epub ahead of print]
• Meyerhardt JA et al.: "Physical activity and male colorectal cancer survival", Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2102-8
• Keating NL et al.: "Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease During Androgen Deprivation Therapy: Observational Study of Veterans With Prostate Cancer", J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]
• Zelefsky MJ et al.: "Postradiotherapy 2-year prostate-specific antigen nadir as a predictor of long-term prostate cancer mortality", Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2009 Dec 1;75(5):1350-6
• Fall K et al.: "Immediate Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Suicide Following a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Prospective Cohort Study", PLoS Med. 2009 Dec;6(12):e1000197
• van Klaveren RJ et al.: "Management of Lung Nodules Detected by Volume CT Scanning", N Engl J Med. 2009 Dec 3;361(23):2221-2229