Researchers are calling for greater awareness of breast cancer in men as the number of cases rise.

Breast cancer is very much seen as a female disease, and most men do not even know they are at risk, the researchers said.

Though the rate is much greater among females, there are still hundreds of men who develop breast cancer and die from the disease every year.

Furthermore, it appears as if the rate of breast cancer among men has risen by about 33 percent over the past 20 years.

Pinpointing an exact cause for the increase is difficult, the researchers said, because it could be any number of lifestyle changes, such as obesity, physical activity or binge drinking, or it could also be a result of the same inherited genetic changes that increase the risk of cancer among women.

Most of the information used to diagnose and treat men with breast cancer currently comes from studies of female breast cancer, but the researchers hope that the rise in cases will motivate scientists to study the biology of male breast cancer for more accurate information.

“Many men are unaware they can be affected by breast cancer but this work has highlighted that the number of cases is gradually increasing,” said Dr. Speirs from the University of Leeds. “It must be stressed that the numbers are still extremely small – 150 times less than in women so we are certainly not talking about an epidemic. However better awareness is needed.”

Leeds and her colleagues are planning to examine the genes and proteins involved in male breast cancers to determine whether there are similarities or differences with female breast cancer. They are currently collecting and storing male breast tissue samples for the study.

The researchers warn men to be aware of certain symptoms of male breast cancer, which include discharge from the nipple that may be blood stained, swelling of the breast, a sore or ulcer in the skin of the breast, a nipple that is pulled or retracted into the breast or a lump under the arm.
Men who have any of these symptoms should contact their doctor right away.

The study was published in the on-line journal Breast Cancer Research

Contrary to earlier findings, a new study by Mayo Clinic researchers determines that flaxseed provides no benefit in easing hot flashes among postmenopausal women and breast cancer patients.
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In 2007, researchers reported that consuming 40 grams of crushed flaxseed daily might help manage hot flashes.

However, this latest, which followed 188 women over a period of two months, found no significant difference in hot flashes between women taking flaxseed and those taking a placebo.

“Hot flashes are common among women during the menopause transition or following breast cancer treatment,” said Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, of Mayo Clinic’s Breast Diagnostic Clinic.

“While preliminary data from our 2007 pilot study showed a reduction in hot flashes associated with the consumption of ground flaxseed, our new study did not result in a significant decrease in hot flashes with eating flaxseed compared to placebo,” Pruthi said.

However, he added, that doesn’t mean postmenopausal women taking flaxseed should necessarily abandon the habit.

“Flaxseed may be beneficial for people who want to add fiber and bulk to their diet to manage constipation,” Pruthi said, “but more research is needed to identify whether flaxseed has any other health benefits.”

The study was published in the journal Menopause.

Women with breasts that appear dense on mammograms are not only at a higher risk of breast cancer than women with less dense breasts, but they are also at greater risk of developing more aggressive cancers, researchers said.

Breast density, which is determined by the proportions of fat, connective tissue and epithelial tissue in the breast, has already been identified as a risk factor for breast cancer.  But now researchers add to that finding by reporting that tumors in higher-density breasts also appear to share certain aggressive characteristics.

In a study of 1000 women with breast cancer and 1,800 women without breast cancer, researchers found, as expected, that the risk of breast cancer increased progressively with increasing breast density.

They also found that the tumors in higher density breasts tended to be larger, high-grade and estrogen receptor-negative.  There was no association between density and other signs of tumor aggressiveness, such as nodal involvement or HER2 status.

Researchers warn that the results may potentially be influenced by the “masking effect” – essentially, tumors are harder to spot in high-density breasts and so they are able to go undetected for longer.

However, the researchers said, “Given that the magnitude of the association with breast density is strong across all breast cancer subtypes and particularly for ER-negative disease, breast density should be included in risk prediction models across tumor subtype.”

The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In December, the Food and Drug Administration drafted a proposal to remove the approval of Avastin for breast cancer treatment. Now, tensions have hit a fever pitch during a current hearing as patients and the drugmaker Roche plead for the government organization to reconsider.

The FDA first approved Avastin for breast cancer in 2008 after a study showed the drug stalled cancer growth by almost six months when used in combination with chemotherapy. Because the drug was given accelerated approval, the FDA required Roche to run follow-up studies to confirm the drug’s effectiveness.

However, the later studies weren’t as successful, finding only a one to three month delay in cancer growth. None proved that Avastin extended the lives of patients with advanced breast cancer, and some patients had severe side effects such as holes in the stomach and intestines.

Nevertheless, since the FDA began its hearing for Avastin on Tuesday, breast cancer patients have stepped forward to recount their success stories, thanks in part, to the drug. Some have held signs and chanted outside the FDA building in favor of Avastin.

Personally, I agree with these patients. I think that the FDA should keep the approval of Avastin for breast cancer, pending new studies.

Metastatic breast cancer, in many cases, is very difficult to treat, and the choices of treatments are often limited.

I am aware of the discrepancies in cancer survival rates with the use of Avastin. However, there are some patients that do show significant improvement after taking it, and it is unfair to have the drug’s approval removed for this use when there is a select group of women that could definitely benefit from it.

Medical treatment, especially for something as complicated as metastatic cancer, has to keep whatever positive gains toward a cure it has and build upon that to get to newer drugs and better treatments with higher degrees of success.

Now, I know that even without FDA approval of Avastin for metastatic breast cancer, doctors can still utilize the drug. However, Medicare may not cover its costs, and certainly many private insurance agencies may think twice before approving claims for it. This could be devastating for the 17,000 breast cancer patients out there that are currently taking Avastin.

Because, really, at the end of the day, it is the patients and their families who will be hurt the most.

There appears to be a strong link between an obesity-related gene and breast cancer, according to a new study.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital researchers have found that people who carry a variant of a gene related to obesity (FTO) have up to a 30 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than those who have other versions of the FTO gene.

“This is a fascinating early finding, which fits with the known connections between obesity and breast cancer,” said Virginia Kaklamani, MD, oncologist at Northwestern Memorial, co-director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and lead author of the study, in the press release.

Every person carries the FTO gene, but only 18 percent have the particular variant associated with breast cancer, according to researchers.

Testing for the variant is not currently available but researchers hope it will be in the future in order to better identify people who are at an increased risk of cancer or detect cancer early.

The study was published in BMC Medical Genetics and is part of an ongoing group of studies to further knowledge of genetic risk factors for breast cancer.

Women, consider adding more parsley to your diet.  Though it’s usually seen as a simple accent to meals, new research suggests that it may prevent certain breast cancer cells from multiplying and growing.

According to Salman Hyder, from the University of Missouri, a compound called apigenin that is found in parsley and other plant products, including fruits and nuts, caused fewer tumors to develop in rats who were exposed to it.

Hyder believes this finding could impact women who are taking certain hormone replacement therapies.

“Six to 10 million women in the United States receive hormone replacement therapy (HRT),” Hyder said in a press release. “We know that certain synthetic hormones used in HRT accelerate breast tumor development.”

Apigenin has been shown to delay or prevent this tumor development by blocking the supply of blood vessels to feed the tumors.  However, it does not stop the initial formation of cancer cells within the breast.

The compound is most prevalent in parsley and celery, but can also be found in apples, oranges, nuts and other plant products. However, apigenin is not absorbed efficiently into the bloodstream, so scientists are unsure of how much can or should be ingested.

“We don’t have specific dosage for humans yet,” Hyder said. “However, it appears that keeping a minimal level of apigenin in the bloodstream is important to delay the onset of breast cancer.”

The study was published in Cancer Prevention Research.