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In Brief
ER-Negative Breast Cancer Patients Benefit From Newer ChemotherapyNewer chemotherapy treatments may reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence for patients whose tumors lack estrogen receptors, a type traditionally considered more difficult to treat, a study reports.
Eric Winer, M.D., at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues identified 6,600 breast cancer patients with estrogen receptors (ER positive) and without (ER negative) who had been treated to prevent breast cancer recurrence after surgery with either chemotherapy or chemotherapy and tamoxifen.
The authors found that ER-negative patients had a 55% reduction in risk of death, compared with a 23% reduction in ER-positive patients. The findings suggest that newer chemotherapies benefit ER-negative patients most but that chemotherapy should be administered to both groups.
The study was published in the April 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
New Research Links High Cholesterol and Prostate Cancer
High cholesterol levels may be associated with increased risk of prostate cancer, a new study shows.
Francesca Bravi, M.D., from the Istituto Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan, Italy, and colleagues identified 1,294 men with prostate cancer and 1,451 control subjects in four areas of Italy. They assessed cholesterol intake, other noncancerous conditions, and risk of prostate cancer.
The authors found that men under 50 or over 65 with prostate cancer had an 80% likelihood of having a high cholesterol level. The overall likelihood that a man with prostate cancer had high cholesterol levels was 50%. The researchers suggest that future prostate cancer studies should examine cholesterol levels.
The study was published online April 12 in the Annals of Oncology.
Early Onset of Colorectal Cancer Associated With Alcohol, Tobacco, and Men
Using alcohol and tobacco, as well as being male, was associated with an early onset of colorectal cancer, according to a new study.
Anna L. Zisman, M.D., of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and colleagues examined the medical records of 161,172 patients with colorectal cancer to decide whether alcohol and tobacco use should be looked at when making decisions about colorectal cancer screening. They examined tumor location in relation to use of alcohol and tobacco.
The authors found that people who used alcohol and tobacco at the time of the study developed cancer an average of 7.8 years earlier than nonusers. Also, drinkers and smokers more often had distal (on the left side of the colon) than proximal (on the right side of the colon) tumors. Those who either smoked or drank were 5.2 years younger when diagnosed with cancer. If individuals had stopped drinking a year before the study and never smoked, they developed cancer on average 2.1 years earlier.
Women who smoked developed cancer 6.3 years before nonsmokers, whereas men who smoked developed cancer 3.7 years earlier. The authors suggest that alcohol and tobacco users should be screened for colorectal cancer at a younger age.
The study was published in the March 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine
Painkiller Stops Aromatase Production, May Fight Breast Cancer
The painkiller nimesulide stops the production of an enzyme called aromatase, which is often a key component of breast cancer, a new study shows.
Nimesulide is from a class of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, some of which have been associated with an up to 40% reduction in breast cancer incidence. Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus tested whether variations of NSAIDs would block aromatase production in estrogen-dependent cells in both breast tissue and human placental cells. Nimesulide stopped aromatase production in breast tissue but not placental cells.
The study's results were announced March 27 at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
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