deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) announced the launch of deCODE BreastCancer(TM), a new tool for assessing risk of the common forms of breast cancer. For the first time, a woman concerned about breast cancer can speak with her physician about a genetic test to better understand her lifetime risk of developing the common forms of the disease.

Women who have had early stage breast cancer surgically removed, and whose tumour cells are stimulated by the hormone oestrogen, can benefit from taking Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonists, a Cochrane Systematic Review has concluded. This medication may be taken alone or alongside the use of tamoxifen. Developing effective treatment regimes is important because approximately 30% of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer eventually die of the disease.

Analysis of data from 38 studies that enrolled more than 2.7 million women - the largest of its kind - by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the University of Santiago de Compostela reveals that regular use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a 12 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer compared to non-users.

When it comes to understanding the effectiveness and safety of using herbal therapies with other drugs, much is unknown. Now, a University of Missouri researcher will study how black cohosh - an herbal supplement often used to relieve hot flashes in menopausal women - interacts with tamoxifen, a common drug used to treat breast cancer. As women age and reach menopause, their risk of developing breast cancer increases.

Women at elevated risk of breast cancer who had been randomly assigned to tamoxifen treatment and then developed estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer were diagnosed earlier than women who had been randomly assigned to take a placebo and then developed ER-negative disease, according to a study published online October 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Study Design Proposed to Improve Biomarker Development Researchers propose a nested case-control study design aimed at determining the accuracy of biomarker classification. The new design is called PRoBE for prospective-specimen-collection and retrospective-blinded-evaluation.

The Medipattern Corporation (TSX VENTURE:MKI), a pioneer in the development of medical software solutions that help improve imaging workflow and productivity, is pleased to announce that a study abstract, showing a statistically significant increase in diagnostic accuracy when using B-CAD Version 2 on lesions less than 1 cm in size, has been published in the October 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The real world is three-dimensional. That's true even in the laboratory, where scientists have to grow cells to study how they develop and what happens when their growth is abnormal. More and more laboratories are seeking to develop three-dimensional cell culture systems that allow them to test their new techniques and drugs in a system that more closely mimics the way in which cells grow. However, a big sticking point is the cost of commercial media for growing such cultures.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, today announced that it has completed enrollment in the first stage of a Phase II trial of bavituximab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. This is Peregrine's second Phase II study for the treatment of breast cancer.

A special supplement of the Oct. 15 journal Cancer for the first time details guidelines for low- and middle-income countries to implement breast cancer programs to detect and treat the most common disease among women worldwide.

A University of Wolverhampton scientist has received a grant worth £15,000 from leading research charity Breast Cancer Campaign to investigate improvements to chemotherapy treatment. Around 40 per cent of cancers are resistant to chemotherapy and some patients will see their breast cancer return. Dr Weiguang Wang aims to improve the outcome for these patients by studying whether resistance can be prevented or reversed.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is dedicated to providing free information to help women learn about their risks and take action to lower them. Apart from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women, with over 170,000 cases diagnosed last year alone. But when it is caught before spreading to lymph nodes or other tissue, the five-year survival rate now stands at 98 percent.