Mammary Cell News Volume 3.29 | Jul 28 2011

‘Hidden’ Cancer Cells Not a Factor in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Survival Rates
A new study shows that removing lymph nodes due to the presence of occult, or microscopic, cancer cells found in the sentinel lymph node has no impact on survival outcomes of women with early-stage breast cancer. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in the Journal of the American Medical Association]

Breast Density Tied to Specific Types of Breast Cancer, Study Suggests
Women with breasts that appear dense on mammograms are at a higher risk of breast cancer and their tumors are more likely to have certain aggressive characteristics than women with less dense breasts, according to a study. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute]

Scientists Developing New Therapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a laboratory finding. [Press release from the American Association for Cancer Research discussing online prepublication in Clinical Cancer Research]

Weight Has Strongest Effect On Hormones that Raise Breast Cancer Risk
Weight has the strongest effect on the sex hormones that increase breast cancer risk in post menopausal women, according to new research. [Press release from Medical News Today discussing online prepublication in the British Journal of Cancer]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Targeted Therapeutic Remodeling of the Tumor Microenvironment Improves a Her-2 DNA Vaccine and Prevents Recurrence in a Murine Breast Cancer Model
Scientists examined whether therapeutically targeted delivery of a synthetic STAT-3 inhibitor to the tumor microenvironment, combined with a HER-2 DNA vaccine can improve immune surveillance against HER-2+ breast cancer and prevent its recurrence. [Cancer Res]

Steroid Hormone Modulation of RET through Two Estrogen Responsive Enhancers in Breast Cancer
Researchers identified key sequences that are required for RET −49.8 and RET +32.8 estrogen responsiveness, including motifs known to be bound by ESR1, FOXA1 and TFAP2C. [Hum Mol Genet]

A Refined Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer
Investigators analyzed the transcriptomes of 537 breast tumors using three unsupervised classification methods. [Oncogene]

MUC16 Induced Rapid G2/M Transition Via Interactions with JAK2 for Increased Proliferation and Anti-Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells
In the present study, scientists investigated the role of MUC16 in breast cancer and its underlying mechanisms. [Oncogene]

HER2-Affitoxin: A Potent Therapeutic Agent for the Treatment of HER2-Overexpressing Tumors
To provide an alternative HER2-targeted therapy, researchers have developed and characterized a novel recombinant protein combining an HER2-specific Affibody and modified Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (PE 38). [Clin Cancer Res]

Exploring Breast Cancer Estrogen Disposition: The Basis for Endocrine Manipulation
Based on recent results from exploring tissue estrogens together with estrogen-synthesizing and estrogen-regulated gene expression levels, investigators proposed a new model to explain elevated breast tissue estrogen levels. [Clin Cancer Res]

Lapatinib, a Preventive/Therapeutic Agent Against Mammary Cancer, Suppresses Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-Mediated Signaling through Multiple Signaling Pathways
In this study, female Sprague-Dawley rats were given methylnitrosourea by intravenous injection resulting in the development of multiple estrogen receptor–positive tumors. [Cancer Prev Res]

Radiation-Enhancement of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Invasion Prevented by a Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor
The role of cyclooxygenase-2, an inflammatory enzyme frequently induced by radiotherapy, was investigated. [Br J Cancer]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Association of Occult Metastases in Sentinel Lymph Nodes and Bone Marrow with Survival Among Women with Early-Stage Invasive Breast Cancer
The objective of this study is to determine the association between survival and metastases detected by immunochemical staining of sentinel lymph nodes and bone marrow specimens from patients with early-stage breast cancer. [JAMA]

Pathologic Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Plus Trastuzumab Predicts Favorable Survival in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Overexpressing Breast Cancer: Results from the TECHNO Trial of the AGO and GBG Study Groups
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel and trastuzumab as neoadjuvant treatment in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–overexpressing breast cancer. [J Clin Oncol]

Obesity and Survival Among Black Women and White Women 35 to 64 Years of Age at Diagnosis with Invasive Breast Cancer
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of obesity on survival among black women and white women with invasive breast cancer and to determine whether obesity explains the poorer survival of black women relative to white women. [J Clin Oncol]

Mammographic Breast Density and Subsequent Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women According to Tumor Characteristics
Researchers aimed to determine whether the associations between breast density and subsequent breast cancer varied by tumor characteristics. [J Natl Cancer Inst]

Circulating Sex Hormones and Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Postmenopausal Women: Reanalysis of 13 Studies
Sex hormone concentrations were strongly associated with several established or suspected risk factors for breast cancer, and may mediate the effects of these factors on breast cancer risk. [Br J Cancer]

Proteome Sciences and Buck Institute to Develop Biomarker Tests to Improve Breast Cancer
Proteome Sciences plc will collaborate with Buck Institute for Research on Aging to develop personalized molecular tests for estrogen receptor alpha aimed at improving outcomes in breast cancer. [Buck Institute for Research on Aging Press Release]

University of Pittsburgh Receives $67.3 Million to Translate Science into Therapies
A University of Pittsburgh institute aimed at accelerating the pace of translating science into real-life treatments for patients has received $67.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to expand its work over the next five years. [University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Press Release]

Columbia University Medical Center Receives $38.9 Million to Help Translate Science into Treatment
The Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research is among 10 institutes nationwide to receive renewed funding, in recognition of their successes during the first five years of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program, which is administered by the NIH’s National Center for Research Resources. [Columbia University Medical Center Press Release]

Johns Hopkins Medicine Names Landon King, M.D., Vice Dean For Research
Landon S. King, M.D. has been named the next vice dean for research at Johns Hopkins Medicine, effective Sept. 1. [Johns Hopkins Medicine Press Release]

NCCN Breast Cancer Panel Reaffirms Current Position and Recommendation Regarding the Use of Bevacizumab in Metastatic Breast Cancer
The Expert Breast Cancer Panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) met July 10-12, 2011. At the meeting, the multidisciplinary breast cancer experts voted (24 For, 0 Against, 1 Abstain) in favor of maintaining the current position and recommendation in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Breast Cancer on the use of bevacizumab in metastatic breast cancer. [National Comprehensive Cancer Network, United States]

National Institutes of Health (United States)

Food and Drug Administration (United States)

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

European Medicines Agency (European Union)

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

NEW 2nd International Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer
October 15-18, 2011
Pune, India

NEW National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Conference
November 6-9, 2011
Liverpool, United Kingdom

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the mammary cell community.

Lab Technologist – Tissue Culture (STEMCELL Technologies)

Research and Development Technologist, hPSC Media (STEMCELL Technologies)

Scientist (iPSC) (STEMCELL Technologies)

Post-Doctoral Scientists (North Carolina Central University)

Post-Doctoral Training Fellow – Study of Tankyrase Biology (The Institute of Cancer Research)

Higher Scientific Officer (The Institute of Cancer Research)

Postdoctoral Fellow (Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend)

Postdoctoral Position in Cancer Research (Tufts Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow (Roswell Park Cancer Institute)

Laboratory Project Scientist (University of California, San Diego)

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