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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> April
> April 17, 1998:
Hour One: Breast Cancer Update:
This year, an estimated 178,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 43,500 will die. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll take a look at some of the latest research on the disease with some of the leading researchers in the field.
Last week, researchers announced that the drug tamoxifen can help prevent breast cancer among women with high risk for the disease. Women taking tamoxifen had 45% fewer cases of breast cancer than did a control group, which received a placebo. However, the drug also carries the risk of serious side effects, from cancer in the womb to blood clots in the legs.
| This week, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine announced that over a ten-year period, women receiving yearly mammograms had a high risk of receiving a false positive result - the test seeing suspicious signs that turn out not to be breast cancer. Of course, the answer is not to stop having mammograms, but to be aware that there is a chance that the test is not always accurate. Doctors also called for more research into mammography to try to learn ways to reduce the rate of false positives without losing sensitivity crucial to early cancer detection.
In 1990, a gene called BRCA1 was discovered. Mutations in this gene are associated with a predisposition to breast cancer. Since then, many clinics have begun to offer screening for mutations in the gene. A recent study found that American women who do not have a strong family history of breast cancer should not feel the need to be tested. However, members of communities in which the gene mutation is common, such as Ashkenazi Jewish populations, might find the gene test worthwhile. A similar study is currently being done on BRCA2, another gene with disease-causing mutations. | 
BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes in
which mutations are associated with
breast cancer. | Plus - new tests for cancer, greater understanding of the biochemistry of the disease, and much more - on this hour of Science Friday.
Guests:
Mary-Claire King
Professor of Medicine and Genetics
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Larry Wickerham
Associate Chairman
National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project
Pittsburgh, PA
Larry Norton
Chief, Breast Cancer Medicine Service
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center
New York, NY
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Oncolink
National Surgical Adjuvant Breast
and Bowel Project
National Cancer Center
National Breast Cancer Coalition
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