Breast Cancer

Latest U.S. estimates indicate that since 1989, hundreds of thousands of women's lives have been saved by mammography and improvements in breast cancer treatment. The findings point to progress made in early detection and management of breast cancer.

As genetic testing for breast cancer has become more complex, evaluating a panel of multiple genes, it introduces more uncertainty about the results. But a new study finds that newer, more extensive tests are not causing patients to worry more about their cancer risk.

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center member Lori Pierce, M.D., was elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The University of Michigan research team retrospectively examined 485 women with autologous breast reconstructions (after mastectomies due to breast cancer) who underwent screening mammography over 15 years. The findings suggest that in addition to surveillance, breast cancer patients who undergo mastectomies and autologous tissue reconstruction may benefit from mammography screening of their flaps.

A team at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center recently sought to determine how much newly diagnosed cancer patients understand about the benefits of genetic testing after a diagnosis. Their other objective: to find out whether a decision support tool would help improve that knowledge.

The outside of a cancer cell is bombarded by signals. They come from the immune system, supporting tissues, and other structures. But how do those signals affect cancer? A new study provides a surprising model of the process by which those signals enter and influence the cell. The finding could open up a potential new avenue to pursue new therapies against cancer.