Whats New in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment?
Studies continue to uncover lifestyle factors and habits that alter breast cancer risk. Ongoing studies are looking at the effect of exercise, weight gain or loss, and diet on breast cancer risk. Studies on the best use of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations continue at a rapid pace. Other genes are being identified. This will occur more rapidly now that the human genome has been sequenced. Perhaps the most important finding, though, has been that combined estrogen and progestin (not estrogen alone) when used as postmenopausal hormone therapy increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. A large, long-term study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is now underway to help find the causes of breast cancer. Chemoprevention Recent results of studies that are still in progress suggest that selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs) lower breast cancer risk in women with certain breast cancer risk factors. Further research with SERM
