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Current Projects
Project Title Sleep, Circadian Hormonal Dysregulation and Breast Cancer Survival
Researcher David Spiegel, MD , Stanford School of Medicine
Study Summary Too much stress and not enough sleep are two things that many women know all too well. But, could they be linked to breast cancer? That is what a group of researchers at Stanford University want to find out. They are studying the effect that stress and sleep-related hormones may have on the immune system and cancer progression.
Project Title The BEAM Study
Researcher Seema Khan, MD
Study Summary Today, doctors rely on a woman’s personal and family medical history to help them figure out if she is at higher than average risk of developing breast cancer. But this method is far from perfect. Many women who develop breast cancer don’t have any of the known risk factors. And many women who have all of the known risk factors never get the disease. Clearly, we need a better way to tell who is at risk. And that’s what the BEAM (Breast Estrogen and Methylation) study is all about: Finding a better way to predict a woman’s breast cancer risk. Three hundred women are needed for this study.
Project Title Pathways to Recovery After Breast Cancer
Researcher Annette Stanton, Ph.D. , University of California Los Angeles
Study Summary In an effort to find the best way to empower women with the information they need as they begin to live their lives after breast cancer, researchers across the nation and the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service have developed a study that is investigating the best way to provide post-treatment education materials via the Internet or CD-Rom, to breast cancer survivors.
Project Title The Milk Study: Using Breast Milk to Screen for Breast Cancer and Assess Breast-Cancer Risk
Researcher Kathleen Arcaro, PhD
Study Summary The purpose of this study is to determine if breast cancer and breast cancer risk can be accurately assessed from a breast milk sample. Currently, there is no accurate way to give women information about their personal risk of developing breast cancer. We will use the cells naturally present in breast milk to examine changes in DNA that occur in association with benign and cancerous breast lesions. Learning about the genetic changes associated with both breast cancer and non-cancerous breast lesions will help us develop a way to provide women with information about their breast cancer risk. Using breast milk to screen for breast cancer will reduce unnecessary biopsies among nursing women.
Project Title The Patient-Physician Interface: How Breast Cancer Patients Navigate Fertility Concerns and Treatment Options
Researcher Karrie Snyder, PhD (IRB Approval STU00012672)
Study Summary This study, being conducted at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, is exploring how younger women (18- 40 years old) and their doctors discuss cancer treatments and fertility, how newly diagnosed women make treatment choices (including fertility conserving treatment options), and how fertility issues impact these women’s lives after cancer. The study is also examining how having a breast cancer diagnosis influences a woman’s life after cancer, including her future family plans and family relationships. The researchers need 15 African-American women who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 3 years for their study.
Project Title A Yoga and Wellness Program for Breast Cancer Survivors with Persistent Fatigue
Researcher Julienne Bower, Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles
Study Summary The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of a series of relaxing yoga classes to a Wellness Seminar series on energy, mood, physical function, and the activity of the immune and endocrine systems in women who have survived breast cancer. Sixty (60) breast cancer survivors are needed for this study.
Project Title The Impact of Colonic Microbiota on Breast Cancer
Researcher Ece Mutlu, MD at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
Study Summary The purpose of this study is to find out what type of bacteria can be found in the intestines and to look at the way the bacteria metabolize estrogen and other female hormones. The bacteria of women who have never had breast cancer will be compared to the bacteria of women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Thirty (30) women who have never had breast cancer are needed for this study.
Project Title Protocol for Narrowing the Gap in Adjuvant Therapy
Researcher Vanessa Sheppard, PhD
Study Summary African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women, even though fewer African American women are getting breast cancer each year and screening use has improved. This difference has gotten worse over the past 20 years. The Gap Study was designed to gather the information needed to better understand the differences in breast cancer treatment experiences between Black/African American Women and White/European American Women. The researchers want to know more about how to improve the survival rates of women with breast cancer.
Project Title Yoga for Breast Cancer Survivors: Effects on Fatigue, Immune Function, and Mood
Researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD
Study Summary Breast cancer survivors can have a lot of post-treatment problems, such as fatigue, depression, and a decrease in physical function. It is possible that physical activities, like yoga, could help ease these symptoms. This is a study about how yoga affects fatigue, immune function, and mood of women treated for breast cancer.
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