Briefs
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 13, 2003 9:00 p.m.
Postmenopausal hormone therapy linked to breast
cancer
Results from the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions
Trial, a study done to examine the effects of postmenopausal
hormone therapy, show that women who undergo hormone therapy
experience an increase in breast density, one of the risk factors
for breast cancer.
Past studies have shown an increase in breast density is the
greatest known risk factor for breast cancer.
Researchers from UCLA, USC and Wake Forest University examined
digitized mammograms of 571 postmenopausal women who were in the
PEPI trial.
The women were randomly assigned to receive a daily combination
of hormones including estrogen alone, estrogen with progesterone,
or a placebo.
The study found that therapy with estrogen and progestin was
associated with a three to five percent increase in breast density.
Therapy with estrogen alone was not associated with significant
increase.
Drug treats cancer by cutting blood supply to
tumor
Studies conducted by the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center found that
an experimental drug designed to cut off the blood supply to a
cancerous tumor, when paired with standard chemotherapy, is a
promising treatment of patients with advanced colorectal
cancer.
The inhibiting drug, Avastin, cuts off the tumor’s supply
of oxygen and needed nutrients from the blood stream, preventing
increased cancerous growth.
A combined therapy of Avastin and chemotherapy resulted in an
increase length in patient survival time, and a decrease in the
progression rate of the cancer.
Colorectal cancer is incurable and most patients die within a
year. This form of cancer will affect about 148,000 Americans next
year alone and more than 56,600 will die from the disease.
