Breast Cancer Research Addresses Women's Most Common Malignancy

“The survival curve dramatically changes once the cancer spreads from the breast to the lymph nodes. That’s what we want to avoid.” - Dr. Vijaya Korrapati

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the second leading cause of cancer death. And while men are not excluded from developing the disease, their minuscule numbers pale in comparison to the disturbing statistic that one in every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

Fortunately a breast cancer diagnosis today is one that offers increased treatment modalities and improved prognosis for women. Dr. Vijaya Korrapati, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Hematology/Oncology, is encouraged by the range of resources available to oncologists. “Initially everyone concentrated on surgery, yet we’re using all sorts of treatments now – surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy,” she said.

Dr. Korrapati is particularly excited about recent developments with antibodies. “There are a number of antibody treatments coming out that will offer very targeted treatment with a very low side effect profile,” she said. Chemotherapy is a poison, but a dumb poison,” she explains. “Chemo can’t tell a good cell from a cancerous cell. With targeted treatment you get the same benefits, but with fewer side effects.”

Joining physicians and medical institutions nationwide, Dr. Korrapati is participating in a National Cancer Institute-sponsored breast cancer prevention study. The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (commonly known as the STAR trial) will compare the effectiveness of the drugs tamoxifen and raloxifene, taken over a five-year period, in reducing the occurrence of breast cancer. Physicians and participants, postmenopausal women who are at high risk for breast cancer, will not know which of the two drugs was taken until the end of the study. The women will receive follow-up medical exams for at least seven years.

While the STAR study may prove to enhance future breast cancer prevention efforts, Dr. Korrapati also stresses routine preventive measures, such as self-breast exams and mammograms, to aid early diagnosis. “The survival curve dramatically changes once the cancer spreads from the breast to the lymph nodes. That’s what we want to avoid,” she said. As Dr. Korrapati treats patients with breast cancer, she’s disturbed by a common misconception that these women are incapacitated by the process. Fifty-year-old Lillian Brown was quite the contrary as she underwent chemotherapy and radiation after having a lumpectomy in 1998. “I’d schedule the radiation treatments close to lunch time and go home for a long lunch afterwards. Other than that, I continued to work every day,” she said. Dr. Korrapati added, “Most of the time women tolerate treatment very well. The picture of a completely bald woman who is nauseous all the time is just not usually the case. That’s an image that has to go away,” she said.

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, August 2004

Connections is produced twice a year by University Specialty Clinics ®. Connections articles are copyrighted and may be download and/or reprinted for personal use only. Prior written consent is required in order to reprint or electronically reproduce any articles, graphics, and photographs appearing on the website. For more information, contact Diane J. Epperly, Connections editor, at wordchef@atlanticbb.net .