Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University report that breast cancer survivors who experience pain during sexual intercourse, a common side effect of breast cancer treatment, may achieve comfort when liquid lidocaine is applied strategically to prevent pain. Their research was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Breast cancer experts around the world have issued a plea to researchers, academics, drug companies, funders and advocates to carry out high quality research and clinical trials for advanced breast cancer.
Women who have had children (parous women) appear to have an increased risk of developing estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the subtype that carries a higher mortality rate and is more common in women of African ancestry. A similar relationship was found for triple-negative breast cancer. However, the association between childbearing and increased risk of estrogen receptor-negative and triple-negative breast cancer was largely confined to the women who had never breastfed.
Referrals for genetic counseling and testing for breast cancer risk more than doubled across the UK after actress Angelina Jolie announced in May last year that she tested positive for a BRCA1 gene mutation and underwent a double mastectomy. The rise in referrals continued through to October long after the announcement was made. This is according to research published in the journal Breast Cancer Research.
In a healthcare climate where the costs of treatment are increasingly weighed against potential benefit, a Yale study has found that radiation oncologists are using fewer or less-aggressive radiation procedures on elderly women with early-stage breast cancer.
