A research team analyzed how diabetes mellitus and obesity factor into recurrence and survival after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer.

Trial results suggested the antibody-drug conjugate may be a treatment option for patients with HER2 metastatic breast cancer in whom endocrine-based therapy has failed. Medscape Medical News

Report shows significantly improved survival rates but a steep increase in disease among women younger than 50A new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS) finds that breast cancer deaths have dropped dramatically since 1989, averting more than 517,900 probable deaths.However, the report also reveals younger women are increasingly diagnosed with the disease, a worrying finding that mirrors a rise in colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Continue reading…

The Fox News Health Newsletter brings you trending and important stories about health care, drug developments, mental health issues, real people’s triumphs over medical struggles, and more.

This cohort study examines whether a commercial artificial intelligence algorithm for breast cancer detection could estimate the development of cancer years before diagnosis.

Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles, is sharing the details of his breast cancer journey to help raise awareness about the early signs he noticed, the importance of screenings, and how he prioritized his health after diagnosis. Photography by Keer Orr and Veronica Hill for Point & Click Photography

Beyonce’s father is opening up about his journey with breast cancer.

Mathew Knowles wants men to know they can get breast cancer, too.

He is working to raise awareness about breast cancer gene mutations and the importance of screening.

With superstar daughters like Beyonce and Solange, Mathew Knowles may be one of the most famous dads in the U.S. However, he is also a music executive, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and breast cancer survivor.

In 2019, after noticing bloody discharge from his nipples, he sought medical attention. His doctor ordered a mammogram, ultrasound, and a biopsy, which led to a stage 1A breast cancer diagnosis.

About 1 out of every 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the United States is discovered in a man.

“There’s an amount of shame sometimes that men have with male breast cancer, but the more you talk about it, the more I find, the more you are open, it loses its power. For me, it does, so I talk about it,” Knowles told Healthline.

How Mathew Knowles’ breast cancer was treated

Knowles’ treatment involved a mastectomy.

Because men have a small amount of breast tissue, they typically need to have the entire breast removed to be treated with cancer in the breast, said Maria Castaldi, MD, Director of Breast Health Services at NYC Health and Hospitals.

“However, if the tumor is small enough, men may have the option of breast conservation and only removing the cancerous part of the breast. This option of partial breast removal, though, requires radiation after surgery,” she told Healthline.

Knowles did not require radiation after his mastectomy. Around the time he had surgery, he also underwent genetic testing, which revealed he carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.

What is the BRCA2 gene mutation?

Castaldi explained that everyone has the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are important in fighting cancer.

“When a person has a mutation in one of these genes, the genes are prevented from working normally. BRCA tests determine if a person has a mutation in the gene, and if so, then it raises a person’s risk for breast and other cancers,” she said.

While 13% of women in the general population will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, more than 60% of women who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations will.

“If a man has a BRCA2 mutation, they have a 6% absolute risk of having breast cancer in his lifetime. This is 100 times higher than the general male population,” Wassim McHayleh, MD, medical oncologist and clinical program director for the Breast Cancer Program at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute, told Healthline.

Men who inherit a BRCA1 or BRCA2gene mutation also have a higher risk of developing prostate and pancreatic cancer.

Why Knowles receiving genetic testing may help Beyonce, too

The children of people with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations have a 50% chance of inheriting it from their parents. Knowles knew of several family members who died of breast cancer on his mother’s side, including his aunt and her two daughters. On his father’s side, four of his uncles died of prostate cancer. 

Because men can inherit a BRCA defective gene from either their father or mother, Castaldi said it is important to know of close relatives, men or women, who have cancer at a young age, or female relatives who have ovarian cancer.

“These details are a significant part of family history for men and could be an indication that a man should undergo BRCA testing,” she said. “Once you are aware of a possible mutation, you can work with your physician to develop a cancer risk management assessment program for certain screening tests.”

With such a strong familial connection for Knowles, he was happy to be able to share genetic knowledge with his family.

“It’s critical. I wouldn’t want my kids or my wife or my brother, sister, not to be informed,” said Knowles. “That’s the beauty about genetic testing…it gives you the information, and it allows you to share that information with the people you love.”

To spread awareness about genetic testing, he partnered with AstraZeneca and its BeBRCAware campaign, which aims to educate people about the importance of genetic testing, understanding family history and risks for breast, prostate and other cancers, and how the presence of an inherited BRCA mutation can help inform your care.

Knowledge is power for Knowles

July marked five years since Knowles was diagnosed with breast cancer. He has not had any recurrences since.

“I’m very grateful. That’s kind of the benchmark that you can kind of breathe,” he said.

However, he is proactive in prioritizing his health. After his diagnosis, Knowles lost 30 pounds, changed his diet, and continues to exercise regularly. He also takes screening seriously. Each year he gets a mammogram and MRIs of his prostate and has his PSA levels tested for prostate cancer.

He says fear of knowing may be why some men and women don’t get screening tests done.

“I’m just the opposite because I worked 20 years in diagnostic imaging. I understand the earlier you find something, the better the results,” said Knowles. “I understand that and in our lifetime, something might happen. None of us are going to live to be 200 years old. I’d much rather find it early than find it at a later stage.”

In fact, Castaldi pointed out that breast cancer in men has traditionally been reported to have a worse prognosis than breast cancer in women based on later stage at diagnosis as well as older age commonly observed in men with breast cancer.

“Lack of early detection and disparities in treatment were believed to be responsible for worse outcomes,” she said.

For men who are at higher risk of getting breast cancer, McHayleh said they can perform monthly self-breast examines starting at age 35, a clinical breast examination once a year, mammography at age 50 or 10 years before the age of the earliest known male family member who had breast cancer.

Regarding prostate cancer, he said screening should start at age 40.

“[If] there is a strong family history, genetic counseling is indicated with appropriate genetic testing,” he said. “Early detection allows cancer diagnosis at early stage with a much higher cure rate.”

Knowles hopes men take this to heart. Although he has talked about female breast cancer for decades due to his work selling mammography equipment in the 1980s, he said this era requires expanding on that message.

“Now I’m talking more or equally about male breast cancer and prostate,” he said. “I have a platform…I want to use this platform to save lives, and [I’m] grateful that I have it.”

A new report released by the American Cancer Society reveals that breast cancer diagnoses are on the rise, especially among younger women and Asian American women.. NBC News medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel explains the study’s findings.

Dr. Marisa Weiss, radiation oncologist and founder of breastcancer.org, shares the questions women should ask after being diagnosed with breast cancer, what to know about the latest treatments, how to be your own advocate, and more.

Kristen Dahlgren, founder of research non-profit The Cancer Vaccine Coalition, along with NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar, join TODAY to break down the emerging breast cancer vaccine trials currently in the early stages in the US and who can benefit the most.

(MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription.
Former president Donald Trump vowed to veto a federal abortion ban if re-elected. (Politico)
Vice President Kamala Harris has a surge of support from Black women…

Breast cancer is a common type of cancer found in women. One measure women take to screen for the disease is getting routine mammograms.

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Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients often experience such symptoms as fatigue, depression and poor sleep quality, even before treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. However, recommendations for managing symptoms often overlook the period immediately after diagnosis and focus instead on symptoms that arise from cancer treatments.

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TODAY’s Jill Martin and her friend, Soul Cycle founding instructor Stacey Griffith, share their story of forming a bond and sisterhood of support while undergoing chemo together to treat breast cancer. They reflect on their diagnoses and life after being cancer-free.

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Despite recent advances in the treatment of breast cancer, it remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and worldwide. There is a continued need to improve treatment strategies and therapies that not only improve patient survival, and also reduce long-term treatment-related toxicities.

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In Reply Alliance A011502, a randomized trial of aspirin 300 mg daily compared with placebo among 3020 survivors of high-risk nonmetastatic breast cancer, was terminated early due to lack of benefit from aspirin. Dr Thorat and colleagues note that for some cancers (eg, colorectal cancer) and different settings (eg, primary prevention), the time course of benefit can differ. However, in the adjuvant setting, it would still be most appropriate to use the standard stopping rules applied to adjuvant treatments such as hormonal therapy for hormone receptor–positive cancers, which, as Thorat and colleagues point out, can have a more indolent course with late recurrences. In our trial, the futility bound was crossed with a numerically worse hazard ratio for invasive disease–free survival (hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.99-1.63; P = .06), making it unlikely that a benefit would have been observed with further follow-up.

To the Editor The Alliance A011502 trial was stopped early for futility at a median duration of just over 1.5 years and a follow-up of less than 3 years. The mechanisms of action and optimal dose associated with aspirin’s cancer-preventive effect remain an area of active research. Trials such as Add-Aspirin and CaPP3 (ISRCTN16261285) are comparing different doses of aspirin in both the adjuvant setting and among individuals with Lynch syndrome. However, prior data make clear that aspirin’s beneficial effect on cancer incidence and mortality does not emerge until at least 5 to 10 years of follow-up and likely persists for at least 10 years after cessation of use. These unique features of aspirin’s preventive effects are particularly relevant for malignancies with a low risk of early events and deaths, such as hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, in which the annual hazards of recurrence are low but remain stable during a prolonged period, up to 20 years. The eligibility criteria of this trial were revised according to this rationale. Almost 90% of the participants in the Alliance A011502 trial were women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. Therefore, the number of events accrued at the early-stoppage decision likely represented only a fraction of events that would be expected in the long term. In this context, we suggest that the futility therefore should not have been based on typical statistical criteria but rather should have also considered the unique pharmacology of aspirin and the natural history of breast cancer, for which longer follow-up, as originally planned, would have been more informative.

1. The 5-year OS rate for pembrolizumab vs placebo was 86.1% vs 81.7% with HR 0.51 (significant). 2. Immune-mediated adverse events grade 3 or higher occurred in 13.0% with pembrolizumab vs 1.5% with placebo. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that lacks key therapeutic targets, leading
The post Overall Survival with Pembrolizumab in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer first appeared on 2 Minute Medicine. Source: 2 Minute Medicine

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with high rates of mortality and morbidity. According to a study published recently in Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, Chinese scientists have revealed a new function of ganoderic acids from Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) for treating breast cancer.

Click here to read this study in NEJM. ©2024 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. Inquire about licensing here. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.
The post #VisualAbstract: Pembrolizumab Increases Survival in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer first appeared on 2 Minute Medicine. Source: 2 Minute Medicine

Maren Sheldon says her sister Kris – founder of charity Coppafeel – was a “beacon of hope” for many people.

An in-home, voice-activated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program improves insomnia symptoms among breast cancer survivors, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in JAMA Network Open.

A study led by Brazilian researchers and reported in an article published in the journal Nature Communications proposes that simultaneously targeting the enzyme glutaminase and the protein HuR, both of which are essential to tumor progression, may be effective in treating breast cancer.