Women with a high percentage of dense breast tissue are at a greater risk of breast cancer recurrence and density should be taken into account during screening and when making treatment decisions, according to research presented March 21 at the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna.

Radiotherapy treatment (RT) after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has a major protective effect against recurrence more than 15 years later, according to the results of an international trial presented March 22 at the 8th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8).

The first 20 years of the Dutch population-based mammography breast cancer screening program have contributed to a drop in deaths from the disease while limiting screening harms such as false positives and overdiagnosis, according to study results reported at the Eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna.

As researchers and clinicians attempt to discern the impact of mammography screening and relative contributions of screening and treatment to mortality improvements, a Dutch study demonstrates both screening and treatment contribute to reduced mortality. Even with improved treatments for the disease, population-based mammography programs still save a significant number of lives, according to a study evaluating the effectiveness of breast cancer screening presented March 21 at the Eighth European Breast Cancer Conference in Vienna.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have developed a way to deliver nanoparticle radiation directly to glioblastoma and contain the dose within the tumor, according to a study published March 19 in Neuro-Oncology.

Maximal wall thickness was identified through PET/CT exams as the strongest predictor of impaired dipyridamole-induced hyperemia and flow reserve, whereas outflow tract obstruction was not an independent determinant, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Merck has communicated to Cardiome Pharma its decision to discontinue further development of the oral formulation of vernakalant, which is being evaluated as maintenance therapy for the long-term prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrence. The decision was based on Merck's assessment of the "regulatory environment and projected development timeline."

U.S. cervical cancer screening services are not as cost-effective as the centralized system in The Netherlands, with U.S. women receiving three to four times more screenings while mortality rates in the two countries remain similar, according to research published in the March issue of the Milbank Quarterly.