On these pages you can check out the latest breast cancer news from BCAC and our member groups. We also provide up-to-date information and links to current breast cancer research and clinical trials. Read latest stories below, or use the filters or the pager below for other stories. Use the form to the right of this to subscribe to our e-News.
BCAC is thrilled a clinical trial involving American engineer Judy Perkins has led to her being declared free of breast cancer with what specialists are calling an extended remission. This wonderful news has come two years after she was told she had only three months to live.
The trial of the experimental therapy was carried out by the US National Cancer Institute. BCAC are aware there is still much to learn before scientists can turn this experimental therapy into a treatment.
More women with the most common form of early stage breast cancer may not need chemotherapy and may instead rely on hormone therapies, according to a landmark study.
The findings in the study were based on a 21-tumor gene expression test which would also inform treatment decisions in real life.
American researchers have hopes a new blood test they have developed may in the future be able to detect 10 types of cancer potentially years before someone becomes unwell.
Recent research has found that changing to a low-fat diet may have a positive influence on breast cancer outcomes.
A study led by Dr Rowan T Chlebowski, PhD of the City of Hope National Medical Center in California found that, in a randomized clinical trial, a low-fat eating pattern was associated with lower risk of death after breast cancer.
BCAC says a new report highlights how desperately poor access to new and innovative medicines is in New Zealand.
The Medicines NZ Medicines Landscape 2017 report finds that New Zealand comes last out of 20 comparable OECD countries for access to publicly-funded new medicines.
The report says this means more than 230,000 patients in New Zealand are currently waiting for access to medicines that are not yet approved for public funding in this country.
BCAC committee member, Louise Malone, attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2017 and gives us an update on the latest cutting-edge research into new targeted immunotherapy treatments.
As cancer researchers better understand the complex interchanges between tumour cells and immune cells and the microenvironment in which they operate, new targets for therapy are emerging.
Many charities rely on the time and expertise of volunteers to provide their services. Finding people with enough of both can be a challenge.
BCAC member group, Breast Cancer Support (BCS) has risen to that challenge, appointing a new governing team of seven multi-talented, enthusiastic and motivated women at its recent AGM.
In the most comprehensive study ever looking at the genetics of breast cancer, scientists have linked 110 genes to an increased risk of the disease.
The Institute of Cancer Research study used a pioneering genetic technique to analyse 63 areas of the genome that had previously been associated with the risk of breast cancer.
New research from the UK shows how alcohol damages DNA in stem cells and helps to explain why drinking can increase your risk of cancer.
The study, by scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has been published in the journal Nature, and used mice to show how alcohol exposure leads to permanent genetic damage.
Researchers in the US have identified two new genes associated with breast cancer: MSH6 and PMS2.
The new study suggests that each gene approximately doubles a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by age 60. The two genes were previously known to cause Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that raises the risk of colorectal, ovarian, stomach, and endometrial cancer.