Acupuncture Proven to Combat Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatments

New research reveals that acupuncture is more effective for treating hot flashes than venlafaxine (Effexor) for patients receiving conventional antiestrogen hormone treatment for the treatment of breast cancer. The Department of Radiation Oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan published its finding in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study cites research proving the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of hot flashes during menopause and therefore investigates the effects of acupuncture during breast cancer treatment. Results showed that acupuncture had successfully eliminated all cases of hot flashes and benefitted patients suffering from mental depression. The study also documents that there were no side effects due to the acupuncture treatments but that venlafaxine caused adverse effects including nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, and anxiety. The study further documents that acupuncture increased sex drive, mental clarity, and the overall energy levels in the patients.

Out of a study group of 50 patients, 25 were randomly given 12 weeks of acupuncture and the other 25 were given 12 weeks of venlafaxine. After two weeks, the venlafaxine group continued to experience hot flashes but, like the acupuncture group, had less mental depression. The study concluded that acupuncture “appears to be equivalent to drug therapy” and is “a safe, effective, and durable treatment.”

Source: HealthCMI

African Ancestry Shows Link to Breast Cancer

African ancestry has been understood as a risk factor, but a recent study shows support for this notion. A new study finds that African ancestry is linked to triple-negative breast cancer, a more aggressive type of cancer that has fewer treatment options. Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that, among women with breast cancer, 82 percent of African women were triple negative, 26 percent of African-Americans were and 16 percent of white Americans were. Triple negative breast cancer is negative for three specific markers that are used to determine treatment: the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and HER-2/neu.

The study, published online in the journal Cancer, looked at 581 African American women and 1,008 white women diagnosed with breast cancer at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, plus 75 African women diagnosed at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Researchers found that Ghanaian women were diagnosed at a younger age than American women, and with larger tumors and more advanced cancer. In addition, the Ghanaian women were more likely to test negative for each of the three markers.

Prior studies have shown that while African-American women are less likely than white women to develop breast cancer, those who are diagnosed are usually younger and are more likely to die from the disease. These characteristics, including the triple negative disease, are also more common among women with a known hereditary predisposition for breast cancer related to BRCA1 gene mutations. Other studies have also shown a hereditary breast cancer risk associated with racial-ethnic identity -- most commonly among Ashkenazi Jewish women.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195623.php

Breast Cancer Detection: Mathematical Models With Microwave Tomography Are Cheaper And Less Risky

Currently, X-ray mammography, taking images of the breasts using low-dose ionizing radiation, is the most popular way to detect breast cancer. However, there are several disadvantages to using X-rays for breast cancer screening, chief among them being the invasivity of radiation and the high costs, which limit their wide use and can deter women from getting them. In addition, depending on the age of the patient and tissue density, X-ray mammograms often result in false positives and negatives.

Microwave tomography can provide a cheaper and less risky alternative to X-ray mammography. It detects cancers by measuring inhomogeneities in the electrical conductivity of breast tissue. An array of low-power microwaves are transmitted into the breast from different positions and the resulting scattered signals are collected by antennas surrounding it. The malignant-to-normal tissue contrast arises because cancerous cells have higher water content, and are hence stronger scatterers than normal tissue.

There is room for improvement in the mathematical method that currently exists for image reconstruction in microwave tomography. The problem to be solved is an inverse scattering problem. At microwave frequencies, the inverse problem is difficult to solve accurately because it is highly nonlinear. In addition, it is an ill-posed problem, which means that it does not have a solution in the strict sense, the solutions are not usually unique, and may not depend continuously on the data.

Source:
Karthika Muthukumaraswamy
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
MedicalNewsToday