Decrease of Early Breast Cancer Mortality Rates

An observational cohort study led by Dr. Carolyn Taylor from the University of Oxford in the U.K. showed that mortality rates for women diagnosed with early breast cancer in England decreased from a 5-year mortality risk of 14% in the 1990s to 5% in 2010-2015.

Radiology Reading Rooms
Radiology Reading Rooms

The researchers analyzed data from 512,447 women. The study included data from the England National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service between January 1993 and December 2015, with a follow-up until December 2020.

The study’s results might also help providers identify prognostic risk factors for women diagnosed with early breast cancer.
The study was published in BMJ.

Helping Patients, One Call at a Time

This May, National Nurses Month, Cure featured MSK’s Kimberly Rosencrance in a column by MSK’s Lead Patient Access Nurse, Ann Culkin.

In her role as a Patient Access Nurse Coordinator, Ms. Rosencrance speaks to patients and families over the phone to help navigate their care, financial concerns, and insurance questions. Her work leaves patients feeling calmer and reassured:

Kim conducts these emotionally loaded conversations with insight, expertise and listening skills to remove obstacles to the best oncology care. Kim reassures every caller that she is ‘really listening,’ often letting her silence do the heavy lifting as the patient shares their story.

We salute Ms. Rosencrance, Ms. Culkin, and all MSK nurses. Your work saves lives every day.

Vitamin D Supplements and Cancer, Interrupting Cancer Treatment to Have a Child and More

  • MIT scientists developed a novel method to introduce certain cancer-related mutations into mouse models. CRISPR genome-editing technology has been used to “design models of multiple mutations of the cancer-causing gene, Kras, in various organs.” The novel method is quite revolutionary, and much more efficient than the traditional labor- and time-consuming approach. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology.
  • Researchers from German Cancer Research Center and other institutions worldwide conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on vitamin D3 supplementation impact on mortality and prognosis in cancer, which showed that taking vitamin D daily could help in reducing cancer death risk by 12%. The same review demonstrated that older people benefit more from taking the vitamin than younger people and that it works best when taken preventatively. The systematic review was published in Ageing Research Reviews.
  • While breast density was long linked to breast cancer risk, the new study demonstrated that the slower pace of changes in breast density in one breast compared to the other breast in the same patient over time also seems to be linked to cancer risk. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.
  • A new study demonstrated that interrupting a standard hormone therapy, given to prevent breast cancer recurrence, for conceiving a child “appears safe in the short term.” The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine