New models of drug-resistant breast cancer point to better treatments
Human breast tumors transplanted into mice are excellent models of metastatic cancer and are providing insights into how to attack breast cancers that no longer respond to the drugs used to treat them, according to research led by Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Decoding DNA finds breast tumor signatures that predict treatment response
Decoding the DNA of patients with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists to identify distinct cancer “signatures” that could help predict which women are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, while sparing others from unnecessary treatment.
Estrogen-lowering drugs reduce mastectomy rates for breast cancer patients
In the first large trial of its kind in the United States, researchers have shown that estrogen-lowering drugs can shrink tumors and reduce mastectomy rates for patients with stage 2 or 3 breast cancer.