Two U.S. government clinical trials find that the drug Herceptin can significantly reduce the recurrence of breast cancer in women with an aggressive form of the disease, when given in combination with chemotherapy. In the studies, breast cancer patients who received Herceptin along with standard combination chemotherapy had a 52 percent decrease in disease recurrence compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Herceptin appears to only work in women whose breast cancers are classified as "HER-2 positive," meaning that they make too much of a protein called HER-2, found on the surface of cancer cells. Researchers and cancer experts call the study findings significant and potentially life-saving for the 20% to 30% of breast cancer patients with HER-2 positive cancers.

A recent study by British researchers adds to a growing body of research that removing only a few lymph nodes in breast cancer patients to check if cancer has spread may significantly reduce potential side effects compared to the standard method of removing 10-30 lymph nodes. The procedure, called sentinel lymph node biopsy, is a relatively new method to determine whether breast cancer has spread past the breast. Early research has suggested that sentinel lymph node biopsy may be as
effective at detecting the spread of breast cancer as the traditional method. Researchers of the current study found that sentinel lymph node biopsy markedly reduced arm swelling (lymphedema) and numbness in the arm (paraesthesia).

Cancer is a group of diseases in which cells in the body grow, change, and multiply out of control. The term, breast cancer, refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. This article provides general information on breast cancer and explains terminology and classifications of the disease. Topics include invasive and non-invasive breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), infiltrating ductal carcinoma, infiltrating lobular carcinoma, inflammatory breast cancer, Paget's disease of the nipple, and more.

Tamoxifen is the most common drug used to treat breast cancer and is also approved to help prevent the disease in high risk women. This article provides in-depth information about how tamoxifen works, its uses, who may be a candidate for the drug, potential side effects, and more.