Does Surgery Induce Angiogenesis in Dormant Breast Cancer?
Breast Cancer Possible explanation for the “mammography paradox” in women aged 40-49 Analysis of breast-cancer relapse patterns from two independent databases provides indirect evidence for the theory that surgery to remove the primary tumor may initiate formation of a new blood supply (angiogenesis) in formerly dormant metastases, accounting for a pattern of early relapse in younger women. The study, published online by the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SURGERY, analyzed data from 1,173 women in three clinical trials who had surgery for breast cancer, but no further treatment. The researchers found two relapse peaks: one at 18 months, and another 5 years. Closer analysis showed that 20 percent of premenopausal, node-positive patients (whose cancer had spread to the lymph nodes) relapsed within the first 10 months after removal of the primary tumor. The researchers, led by Michael Retsky, PhD, an investigator in the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, believe their obser
Breast Cancer Possible explanation for the “mammography paradox” in women aged 40-49 Analysis of breast-cancer relapse patterns from two independent databases provides indirect evidence for the theory that surgery to remove the primary tumor may initiate formation of a new blood supply (angiogenesis) in formerly dormant metastases, accounting for a pattern of early relapse in younger women. The study, published online by the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SURGERY, analyzed data from 1,173 women in three clinical trials who had surgery for breast cancer, but no further treatment. The researchers found two relapse peaks: one at 18 months, and another 5 years. Closer analysis showed that 20 percent of premenopausal, node-positive patients (whose cancer had spread to the lymph nodes) relapsed within the first 10 months after removal of the primary tumor. The researchers, led by Michael Retsky, PhD, an investigator in the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, believe their obser