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.
New research shows that women taking Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) as part of their breast cancer treatment have a two to four fold increase in bone loss compared to the usual rate associated with menopause.
AIs are often prescribed for women with hormone-receptive breast cancer and work to block the production of oestrogen in post-menopausal women.
New research has found that random and unpredictable DNA copying “mistakes” are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the mutations that cause cancer.
This means “environmental” influences, such as nutrition and exercise, play less of a role in many cancer cases than previously thought.
Eating foods rich in isoflavones, which are found in soy products, could help to reduce the death rate in women with certain types of breast cancer.
A new study, published in the journal Cancer, found that isoflavones are associated with lower death rates in women with hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer and those who are not receiving endocrine therapy.
New results from a major clinical trial testing the breakthrough breast cancer drug, Perjeta, show that it helped women with early HER-2 Positive breast cancer live longer.
Headline results from the Phase III APHINITY trial have just been released by the pharmaceutical company Roche.
Taking hormone drugs for more than ten years could help to dramatically reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence, according to a landmark study.
A randomised clinical trial involving nearly 2,000 women found that cancer recurrence dropped by a third in those who took hormone drugs for ten years rather than the standard five.
Researchers hope that three new breakthrough drugs designed to target triple negative breast cancer could potentially transform therapy for those with the hard-to-treat disease.
There are currently no targeted therapies for those with triple negative breast cancer leaving medical care reliant on traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is calling for urgent action following three recent studies which highlight inequalities in access to screening and treatment for Māori women with breast cancer.
The three studies, all published this year, show that Māori women have higher rates of advanced cancer; experience longer delays in getting surgical treatment; and have lower rates of breast cancer screening.
A Waikato study has found that Māori women wait longer for breast cancer surgery than New Zealand European women.
The longer delays for treatment are thought to be a significant contributing factor in the lower survival rates for Māori women compared with non-Māori in New Zealand.
A recent study has found concerns about fertility stop one third of young women with breast cancer from taking tamoxifen despite its known benefit in reducing the risk of breast cancer returning.
The study, which was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute also found one quarter of women who started taking tamoxifen stopped taking it before the recommended treatment period ended.
A recently published paper by a New Zealand surgeon comparing breast cancer survival rates in Australia and New Zealand reveals lower overall survival rates at five years for New Zealand women, with Māori and Pacific survival found to be significantly worse than other ethnicities.