breast cancer prevention Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/breast-cancer-prevention/ Your hub for fresh-picked health and wellness info Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:02:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AHA_Gradient_Bowl-150x150.jpg breast cancer prevention Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/breast-cancer-prevention/ 32 32 Research From Roswell Park and Kaiser Permanente Supports Vitamin D Supplementation for Breast Cancer Patients https://amazinghealthadvances.net/research-supports-vitamin-d-supplementation-for-breast-cancer-patients-7366/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=research-supports-vitamin-d-supplementation-for-breast-cancer-patients-7366 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/research-supports-vitamin-d-supplementation-for-breast-cancer-patients-7366/#respond Fri, 11 Jun 2021 07:00:27 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=11813 Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center via Newswise – BUFFALO, N.Y. — The joint Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center/Kaiser Permanente Northern California team behind a new study to be highlighted at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 virtual annual meeting has found that sufficient vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis are associated with improved outcomes among people with breast cancer. The new research, presented by first author Song Yao, PhD, is based on Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Pathways Study — a large prospective study in breast cancer patients that has been underway since 2006 under the direction of Larry Kushi, ScD, who is Senior Author on the new study. Dr. Yao highlighted the team’s findings in a poster discussion session today. The presentation is Clinically sufficient vitamin D levels at breast cancer diagnosis and survival outcomes in a prospective cohort of 3,995 patients after a median follow-up of 10 years (abstract 10510). “Consistent with results from randomized trials and meta-analyses, our findings from this large, observational cohort of breast cancer survivors with long follow-up provide the strongest evidence to date for maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients, particularly among Black women and patients with more advanced stage disease,” notes Dr. Yao, a molecular epidemiologist and Professor of Oncology with the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park. “These findings highlight not just the role of vitamin D in breast cancer prognosis, but also the contribution of and need for prospective studies in cancer survivors to complement clinical trials,” says study Senior Author Lawrence Kushi, ScD, Director of Scientific Policy at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. The research team measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels from 3,995 women with breast cancer who were enrolled in the Pathways Study, using blood serum samples collected at the time of diagnosis. They examined potential determinants of 25OHD levels, including polygenic score. Vitamin D supplement intake, BMI, and race/ethnicity were the most influential factors on serum 25OHD levels, while genetic variants had only a limited impact, notes Dr. Yao. The study categorized vitamin D levels based on clinical cutoffs: deficient (< 20 ng/ml), insufficient (20 to < 30 ng/ml), or sufficient (≥30 ng/ml). Dr. Yao and colleagues then evaluated these levels in relation to overall survival (OS), breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) after a median follow-up time of 9.6 years. The researchers built Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for non-clinical, clinical and treatment factors that were further stratified by stage, estrogen receptor (ER) status and body mass index (BMI). “Having clinically sufficient vitamin D levels at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is associated with better outcomes,” Dr. Yao notes. “While these results are consistent with our earlier analysis based on a subset of the study population, it’s significant that we saw the same trends in this much larger, longer-term data set — suggesting an ongoing benefit for patients who maintain sufficient levels through and beyond breast cancer treatment.” The team also observed that associations were similar by ER status, and found that the association between vitamin D levels and breast cancer outcomes appeared to be stronger among study participants diagnosed at more advanced stages or with lower body mass index. Black women had the lowest vitamin D levels, which might contribute to their generally poorer outcomes after breast cancer diagnosis. “In the context of supportive data from recent randomized trials and meta-analyses, our findings support the use of daily vitamin D supplementation to maintain sufficient vitamin D levels after breast cancer diagnosis, particularly among Black women and patients diagnosed with later-stage disease,” says senior author Christine Ambrosone, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator of the Pathways Study and Senior Vice President of Population Sciences and Chair of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park. To read the original article click here.

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]]> https://amazinghealthadvances.net/research-supports-vitamin-d-supplementation-for-breast-cancer-patients-7366/feed/ 0 Better 3-D Imaging of Tumors in the Breast with Less Radiation https://amazinghealthadvances.net/better-3-d-imaging-of-tumors-in-the-breast-with-less-radiation-6088/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=better-3-d-imaging-of-tumors-in-the-breast-with-less-radiation-6088 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/better-3-d-imaging-of-tumors-in-the-breast-with-less-radiation-6088/#respond Fri, 25 Oct 2019 07:00:21 +0000 http://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=6826 DOE Science News Source via News Wise – In breast cancer screening, an imaging technique based on nuclear medicine is currently being used as a successful secondary screening tool alongside mammography to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. Now, a team is hoping to improve this imaging technique. The technique is known as molecular breast imaging or breast specific gamma imaging. The team, including Seung Joon Lee at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), added the Variable Angle Slant Hole (VASH) collimator. The addition maintains or improves image quality and precise location within the breast. Simultaneously, it reduces patient radiation dose. (Photo Credit: Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Seung Joon Lee holds the variable angle slant hole collimator. This device can help a breast molecular imaging system get six times better contrast of cancer lesions, providing the same or better image quality while potentially halving the radiation dose.) The Impact When used in a molecular breast imager, the VASH collimator allows the imager to capture 3-D molecular breast images at higher sensitivity than current 2-D scans. Full system tests demonstrate that it could provide up to six times better contrast of tumors in the breast. Gaining the higher contrast does not interfere with image quality (improving it in some cases), and it decreases the radiation dose to patients. Related Articles: Breast Cancer Preventative Care: Breast Density — Separating Myth From Fact Breast Cancer Prevention: Researchers Announce Amino Acid Breakthrough Summary To screen for breast cancer, medical offices use imaging techniques based on nuclear medicine to reduce the number of false positive results rendered by mammography alone. While a mammogram shows the structure of breast tissue, molecular breast imagers show tissue function. For instance, cancer tumors are fast growing, so they gobble up certain compounds more rapidly than healthy tissue; a radiopharmaceutical made of that compound will quickly accumulate in tumors. As the pharmaceutical decays, it gives off gamma rays. To focus the gamma rays, current molecular breast imaging systems use a traditional collimator, which is essentially a rectangular plate of dense metal with a grid of holes, to “filter” the gamma rays for the camera. The collimator helps produce a clear, well-defined image of any cancer tumor. Researchers at Jefferson Lab, Dilon Technologies, and the University of Florida developed the VASH collimator for 3-D imaging of the breast. They constructed it from a stack of 49 tungsten sheets, each one a quarter of a millimeter thick and containing an identical array of square holes. Two small motors slide the individual sheets by their edges. Sliding the sheets changes the angle of the array of square holes in the stack. The result is a systematic varying of the focusing angle of the collimator during the imaging procedure. In system tests, the team found that while using the VASH collimator with an existing breast molecular imaging system, they could get six times better contrast of tumors in the breast. With this higher contrast, imagers could potentially reduce the amount of radiopharmaceutical used, thus halving the radiation dose to the patient, while maintaining the same or better image quality. The results match a published paper that predicted this performance via a Monte Carlo simulation. Jefferson Lab was awarded a patent for this novel mechanism that has been licensed to Dilon Technologies. Additionally, Jefferson Lab and Dilon Technologies have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to further advance this technology to commercialization. To read the original article click here.

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