The 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium, held last week at the Washington Hilton, has released information on new research regarding breast cancer treatment, detection and disparities in care.

The important research information highlighted in the symposium include:

Study results indicating that black women are less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy following surgery for breast cancer. The disparities vary greatly depending upon the region of the United States.
Study results indicating women in rural and urban areas have equivalent rates of radiation therapy following breast cancer surgery. This data suggests that factors other than access to radiation are responsible for significant differences in mastectomy rates of women in urban and rural areas.

Widely publicized study results concluding that molecular breast imaging detects three times as many breast tumors as mammography in women with dense breasts and an increased risk of breast cancer.

Study results indicating that there may be changes in the HER2 status of a tumor in about one-third of women who do not have a complete response to treatment with chemotherapy and the HER2-targeted therapy trastuzumab (Herceptin) before surgery.

Estimates predict 184,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008, and nearly 41,000 people will die from the disease.

"We've seen major improvements in breast cancer treatment over the past several years, but it's unacceptable that these advances are not reaching everyone in need. One of the highlighted studies demonstrates that disparities in care between black and white women persist. We need to work harder to close the gap in access to care," said Eric Winer, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of the Breast Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and moderator of the press briefing. "Another study offers new insight into a promising and future alternative to mammography, while a third will help us personalize care based on a better understanding of the molecular characteristics of a patient's tumor."

The 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium is co-sponsored by the American Society of Breast Disease, The American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the National Consortium of Breast Centers, Inc. and the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Other studies from the symposium were reported in DM6926 (enter this story number into any DOTmed search box).

Adapted from a press release from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Symposium.

For updated abstracts on molecular breast imaging and the other findings, go to:
http://www.asco.org/ASCO/Communications/Communications%20Download/FINALResearchRelease.pdf

For Mayo Clinic images and details on molecular breast imaging, go to:
http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2008/09/03/breast-cancer-molecular-breast-imaging-mammography/

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