What's New
Investigational procedure may make radiation therapy accessible to more women.
After undergoing a lumpectomy to remove the part of the breast affected by breast cancer, most women must undergo radiation therapy treatments.
The standard course consists of six to seven weeks of therapy, five days a week.
For women who live far from their radiation facilities, the burden associated with daily trips for almost two months can be too much to bear.
As a result, some women have curtailed therapy, or even foregone radiation therapy altogether, despite the increased risk of their cancers recurring.
A new kind of radiation therapy, Accelerated partial breast irradiation, or APBI, may now alleviate this travel burden and allow more women to complete this highly important therapy.
Although mammogram is the most commonly performed method of screening the breast, other imaging modalities such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) may be used to provide additional information to better locate and define abnormal findings.
Among these, PET, and more recently PET/CT, fills certain imaging needs that the other modes cannot meet.
Since 1997, the Tumor Immunotherapy Program has been at the forefront of efforts to beat cancer through the development of new vaccines.
Led by Howard L. Kaufman, MD, Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, the program conducts laboratory research and offers vaccines to patients with melanoma, colon cancer, kidney cancer, and other types of cancer including breast cancer.
Dr. Joseph Receives Minority Investigator Travel Award
Kathie-Ann P. Joseph, MD, MPH |
Kathie-Ann P. Joseph, MD, MPH, has been selected to receive the Minority Investigator Travel Award for the 2007 National Adjuvant Surgical Breast and Bowel Project (NASBP) Group meeting in Jacksonville Florida, which will take place April 28-30, 2007.
Mahmoud B. El-Tamer, MD |
In recent years, surgeons have recommended sentinel node biopsy to patients with a non-invasive breast cancer called DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ).
The idea was to remove the lymph nodes closest to the tumor, then check to see if any cancer cells were present.
If these nodes tested positive in the pathology lab, the patient faced another round of surgery to remove additional nodes under the armpit.
Mahmoud B. El-Tamer, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery and Director of the Breast Fellowship Program, followed the progress of DCIS patients who had their axillary nodes removed.
His team discovered a finding of positive cells in the lymph nodes had no long-term effect on the patients' life expectancy.
The bottom line, says Dr. El-Tamer, is that most women with DCIS will not benefit from this approach.
Patients have a new cosmetic option
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, her first concern is to get rid of the tumor and be free of the disease.
But as she discusses her treatment with her physician, she will also want to know what type of surgery is likely to give her the best cosmetic results.
A new discipline called oncoplastic surgery addresses both of these concerns, combining the goals of oncology (treatment of cancer) with plastic surgery (reconstruction of the breast).
Breast Self-Examination
Women Urged to Continue Breast Self-Examination
In fall 2002, a decade-long study 260,000 women in Shanghai concluded that teaching women how to do breast self-examination (BSE) is not cost-effective in developing countries, where women may not have access to mammograms, because BSE cannot detect breast cancer early enough to reduce risk of death.
In spite of these findings and media attention surrounding them, Columbia University's Department of Surgery urges all American women over the age of 20 to continue to perform BSE and to become familiar with the appearance and quality of their own breasts.
This increases the chances of detecting abnormalities that may arise before the next physical or mammogram.
Learn how to perform a Breast Self Exam here and if you find a lump seek immediate medical attention.
Columbia University Breast Center at Palisades Offers Comprehensive Care at a Convenient Location
Columbia University Medical Center has affiliated with Palisades Medical Center of North Bergen, NJ to create a new center offeing comprehensive care for women with breast cancer.
Mahmoud B. El-Tamer, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery-Surgical Oncology at CUMC, will serve as director of the new center.
The Columbia University Breast Center at Palisades combines sophisticated technology with a multidisciplinary team approach to detect and treat breast cancer.
It will serve women in Hudson and Southern Bergen counties.
The center will offer innovative therapies and treatments, including:
- Stereotactic and ultrasound-directed core needle biopsies
- Ductal lavage for women at high risk for breast cancer
- "Second Opinion" program for women diagnosed with breast cancer
- Genetic counseling and access to genetic testing
The center's comprehensive team includes surgeons, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, and a genetic counselor. "Our team understands the complexities of breast cancer, and the many new and innovative ways to effectively treat it," Dr. El-Tamer says.
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