According to a newly published study, very elderly breast cancer patients are less likely to be prescribed the drug tamoxifen to help treat their cancer, compared to younger women. Tamoxifen, brand name Nolvadex, has been used for more than a quarter century to treat breast cancer and reduce the risk that the disease will recur. Other studies have found that elderly women with breast cancer are often treated with less aggressive treatments even though they are more likely than younger women to die from breast cancer.

A newly published study finds that women who are diagnosed with the pre-cancerous condition lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) are more likely to develop breast cancer in the breast with LCIS than in the other breast. Experts had previously believed that women with LCIS were at equal risk of developing breast cancer in either breast, which led to some women deciding to undergo preventive bilateral mastectomies to remove both breasts. This latest study shows that that option may not be necessary.

AstraZeneca, the maker of tamoxifen (brand name, Nolvadex), a drug used to both treat and prevent breast cancer, has added new information to the drug's labeling in the past year, warning of potential health risks. The warning is aimed particularly at women at high risk of breast cancer who are considering tamoxifen as well as those women who have been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The drug maker warns of an increased risk of uterine cancer from tamoxifen, as well as higher risks of stroke and blood clots.

Researchers have been working diligently to find new, more effective treatments for women with advanced breast cancer, for which the chances of survival are typically much lower than for women with earlier forms of breast cancer. Case-in-point, the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca recently reported the results of two early studies of a new drug called Iressa that may be helpful for advanced breast cancer patients. Both clinical trials showed moderate success and one study showed a reduction in some side effects of advanced breast cancer, including bone pain.

A new technology called diffraction enhanced breast imaging may help detect breast cancer at very early stages, according to British reports. The technique involves analyzing the x-ray scatter produced by breast cells. Researchers have discovered that the scatter from breast cancer tumor cells is different than that of regular breast cells, and distinguishing between these different types of x-ray scatter may help scientists detect cancers as small as four millimeters wide. Though early results of diffraction enhanced breast imaging have been promising, researchers still need to refine the technique to work easily with existing mammogram technology.