More women have been having mastectomies to treat early stage breast cancer at the Mayo Clinic since 2004 than during the previous 6 years, according to an analysis of surgeries done at the clinic between 1997 and 2006. While the reasons for the apparent shift are not known, the rise in mastectomy rates marks a reversal—radical surgery to remove the breast had been in decline in the United States, and at the clinic.
The findings, published online July 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, appear at a time when many in the field are wondering about the role of mastectomy in this disease. Read more > >
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Risk influenced by both radiation to breasts and ovaries
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When given with chemotherapy, the drug increased the risk of blood clots
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p53 helps process microRNAs, including some involved in cancer
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Survey of cancer clinical trials finds that conclusions can change as data mature
Five years ago, NCI launched the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) as a pilot program to develop an electronic data infrastructure system for cancer research. It was an ambitious vision to create the world's largest biomedical research "highway." Last week, at the caBIG annual meeting, we had the opportunity to see just how successful this effort has become in a very short time.
Through caBIG, NCI has built an interoperable information network, a platform that supports the exchange of large volumes of research and clinical data, along with the requisite storage and information security that are all too important in an electronic era like today. In addition, caBIG has developed, and now makes freely available, more than 40 software tools that are being applied to basic and clinical research questions related to studying cancer and other diseases—from integrative cancer research tools, to the management of clinical trials, to the inventory, tracking, and clinical annotation of biospecimens.
Read more > >
Updated and Expanded Information about the Recovery Act and Challenge Grants
NCI has updated http://www.cancer.gov/recovery, its Web site with the latest information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The site now includes an overview of the legislation, NCI’s research objectives and signature initiatives, recently posted funding announcements, and an overview of awards. The site will be updated regularly. Your interest in the Recovery Act is important, and the institute welcomes your comments and suggestions.
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Trials point to new treatment approach for some patients with advanced lung cancer, but not everybody convinced
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Lack of standardized symptom management reflects issues in clinical practice
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Stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry improves efficiency, effectiveness of protein biomarker research
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Can genetic testing help determine which patients will benefit from different drugs for advanced lung cancer?
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- FDA Issues Warning on Electronic Cigarettes
- Labeling Change Narrows Use of Two Targeted Agents
- Wikipedia Academy Held at NIH
The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which was established in 1937. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases.
For more information about cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov.
NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.
