Scientists studying the link between cholesterol and breast cancer report that a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism causes some cells to send out cancer-promoting signals to other cells. These signals are packaged in membrane-bound compartments called extracellular vesicles.

A new treatment has potential to improve the outcomes for patients with hereditary BRCA mutations and high-risk, early-stage breast cancer. These results represent the first time a PARP inhibitor has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer returning in high-risk patients following completion of standard chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

Cancerous tumors thrive on blood, extending their roots deep into the fabric of the tissue of their host. They alter the genetics of surrounding cells and evolve to avoid the protective attacks of immune cells. Now, researchers have developed a way to study the relationship between solid, difficult-to-treat tumors and the microenvironment they create to support their growth.

Exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals could elevate the risk of breast cancer, according to a new comprehensive systematic review of epidemiological research. However, for many chemicals, evidence is inconsistent or still limited.

A study looked into how CAR T immunotherapy could be used to treat solid tumors in addition to leukemias. The programming of CAR T cells opens avenues for applying cell therapies to, for example, breast cancer or ovarian cancer in the future.

Low doses of propylparaben – a chemical preservative found in food, drugs and cosmetics – can alter pregnancy-related changes in the breast in ways that may lessen the protection against breast cancer that pregnancy hormones normally convey, according to new research.

Brominated flame retardants may lead to early mammary gland development, which is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

Researchers have developed a new tissue-section analysis system for diagnosing breast cancer based on artificial intelligence (AI). For the first time, morphological, molecular and histological data are integrated in a single analysis. Furthermore, the system provides a clarification of the AI decision process in the form of heatmaps.

When women undergo breast imaging shortly after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in the arm, their tests may show swollen lymph nodes in the armpit area. Radiologists say that this is usually a normal finding, and if there are no other concerns, no additional imaging tests are needed unless the lymph nodes remain swollen for more than six weeks after vaccination. The team has published an approach to help avoid delays in both vaccinations and breast cancer screening.

The drug is effective at treating pancreatic cancer and prolonging survival in mice, according to a new study. A second study shows the drug is also effective against triple-negative breast cancer, a fast-growing and hard-to-treat type of breast cancer that carries a poor prognosis. Clinical trials are set to begin in 2021.

Targeting and changing autophagy, otherwise known as cell recycling, has been linked to helping control or diminish certain cancers. Now, researchers have shown that completely halting this process in a very aggressive form of breast cancer may improve outcomes for patients one day.

New research suggests that a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, designed to treat hereditary forms of ovarian and breast cancer, don’t work the way we thought they did. It also paints a fuller picture of how they work, opening the door to improvements in next-generation drugs.

Hormone therapy can be very effective for so-called estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. But it only works for a little more than half of women who receive the treatment. In a small study, researchers found that women whose tumors did not respond to a one-day estrogen challenge did not benefit from hormone therapy. The findings could help doctors choose treatments most likely to help their patients.

Researchers have found new evidence about the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment with immediate implications for women with estrogen receptor-driven metastatic disease.

Women who take statins, the common cholesterol-lowering medication, during chemotherapy with anthracyclines for early-stage breast cancer are half as likely to require emergency department visits or hospitalization for heart failure in the 5 years after chemotherapy.

Researchers report that adding a small molecule to a chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy can help immune system T cells to effectively attack solid tumors, such as breast cancers. The boost helps recruit more immune cells into battle at the tumor site, according to the new study.

Surgery, in addition to treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may increase the length of survival for metastatic breast cancer patients, according to researchers.

Economists have identified an important challenge in designing age-related guidelines for when to start breast cancer screenings: Women who start getting mammograms at age 40 may be healthier than the population of 40-year-old women as a whole, with a lower incidence of breast cancer at that age.

Researchers have identified a type of immune cells that acts as a major driver of breast cancer growth by preventing the accumulation of a specific protein that induces anti-tumor responses. This new knowledge could be utilized for the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches to treat the disease.

A large meta-analysis of breast cancer survivors of childbearing age indicated that they are less likely than the general public to get pregnant, and they face higher risk of certain complications such as preterm labor. However, most survivors who do get pregnant deliver healthy babies and have no adverse effects on their long-term survival, according to new data.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, and metastasis from the breast to other areas of the body is the leading cause of death in these patients. Detecting circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream could help doctors find and treat metastases at an earlier stage, increasing chances of survival. Now, researchers have developed a method that could more sensitively detect CTCs within the complex environment of blood.

While immunotherapies work well for some cancers, others are immune-resistant and condemn patients to the severe side effects of long-term chemo treatment. A new cancer vaccine successfully treated immune-resistant breast cancer in mice, 100% of which survived a second injection of cancer cells, indicating long-term immunity with no side effects.

A new study provides new estimates of the increased risks of breast cancer associated with use of different hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations.

Using a new technique, a team of researchers has found tiny and previously undetectable ‚hot spots‘ of extremely high stiffness inside aggressive and invasive breast cancer tumors. Their findings suggest, for the first time, that only very tiny regions of a tumor need to stiffen for metastasis to take place. Though still in its infancy, the researchers believe that their technique may prove useful in detecting and mapping the progression of aggressive cancers.

A team has developed a novel testing platform to evaluate how breast cancer cells respond to the recurrent stretching that occurs in the lungs during breathing. The technology is designed to better understand the effects that the local tissue has on metastatic breast cancer to study how metastases grow in a new tissue.