Breast Cancer in the 21st Century
Despite technological advances and numerous clinical trials, breast cancer remains to be the single most common cause of death among women aged 40 to 50 years. Every year, about 14,000 women die from it.
On the other hand, there are reasons to be optimistic. Initial results from the STAR trial initiated in 1999 show that raloxifene is a safer alternative to tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer. Many new drugs, such as the PARP inhibitor for advanced breast cancer, are at various clinical trial phases.
Prevention and early detection campaigns continue to raise awareness and consequently save lives. The future of breast cancer management looks promising.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
[...] Breast cancer is benefiting from some of the latest research into the mechanisms of the disease and one such breakthroughs that is set to make a difference is the isolation of a signal gene. Researchers have found that it is the presence or absence of this specific gene that can tell weather the breast cancer spreads or maintains its inert state as a mere lump. It has also been found that all humans have a cell or two of cancerous categorization and the many factors that makes it blow off into a full blown disease is also being studied. On the other hand, imaging scientists are trying to develop faster screening technology that assesses the density of tissue obtained from a biopsy getting the results faster making treatment possible as soon as possible. [...]