The outlook for women with breast cancer has improved in recent years. Due to the combination of improved treatments and the benefits of mammography screening, breast cancer mortality has decreased steadily since 1989. Yet breast cancer remains a major problem, second only to lung cancer as a leading cause of death from cancer for women. To date, no means to prevent breast cancer has been discovered and experience has shown that treatments are most effective when a cancer is detected early, before it has spread to other tissues. These two facts suggest that the most effective way to continue reducing the death toll from breast cancer is improved early detection and diagnosis. Building on the 2001 report Mammography and Beyond, this new book not only examines ways to improve implementation and use of new and current breast cancer detection technologies but also evaluates the need to develop tools that identify women who would benefit most from early detection screening. Saving Women's Lives: Strategies for Improving Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis encourages more research that integrates the development, validation, and analysis of the types of technologies in clinical practice that promote improved risk identification techniques. In this way, methods and technologies that improve detection and diagnosis can be more effectively developed and implemented.

This book is the seventh in a series of titles from the National Research Council that addresses the effects of exposure to low dose LET (Linear Energy Transfer) ionizing radiation and human health. Updating information previously presented in the 1990 publication, Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR V, this book draws upon new data in both epidemiologic and experimental research. Ionizing radiation arises from both natural and man-made sources and at very high doses can produce damaging effects in human tissue that can be evident within days after exposure. However, it is the low-dose exposures that are the focus of this book. So-called “late” effects, such as cancer, are produced many years after the initial exposure. This book is among the first of its kind to include detailed risk estimates for cancer incidence in addition to cancer mortality. BEIR VII offers a full review of the available biological, biophysical, and epidemiological literature since the last BEIR report on the subject and develops the most up-to-date and comprehensive risk estimates for cancer and other health effects from exposure to low-level ionizing radiation.

Cancer risk prediction models provide an important approach to assess risk and susceptibility by identifying individuals at high risk, facilitating the design and planning of clinical chemoprevention trials, and allowing the evaluation of interventions. Conventional breast cancer risk model includes the cumulative estrogen exposure data such as age, age at menarche and menopause, age at first live birth, and use of HRT in risk calculation, since estrogens are the main risk factor for mammary carcinogenesis. The most widely known and commonly used model for breast cancer risk assessment is the Gail model, which focuses primarily on non-genetic risk factors, with limited information on family history. The first chapter of this book examines breast cancer risk assessment models. The following chapters discuss the association between obesity and breast cancer development; current and future standards for treatment of breast cancer and long term care of patients; and mastectomies and voluntarism.

The first book to give women the tools they need to realistically assess their risk of getting breast cancer--and choose the best course of action Ask women what their number-one health fear is and most will not hesitate before answering "breast cancer." The recent proliferation of easily misunderstood and often contradictory statistics about breast cancer and its causes, however, is scaring many women who have only a small risk of contracting the disease. Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer is designed to help women evaluate what their risk really is and then determine what the next step should be based on that risk. Written by a leading expert in the field, the book discusses everything from studies on how age and family history relate to breast cancer risk, to those on hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer, enabling a woman to understand and focus on her own personal situation. Whether providing advice on how to get more extensive testing, counseling, and preventative measures when necessary, or offering the welcome assurance that the risk is small enough to warrant just annual checkups, mammograms, and regular self-examinations, Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer replaces rumors and scare tactics with solid, practical, and vital information.

Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis. However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment. Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.

The ultimate guide to caring for and communicating with patients suffering with hereditary cancer syndromes Providing the essential tools needed to understand clinical cancer genetics, Cancer Genetics: A Clinical Approach builds your mastery of differential diagnosis formulation, all the available genetic testing options at your disposal, interpreting results logically and accurately, and educating patients and their families about effective cancer prevention methods. This unparalleled resource walks you through the process of effectively and thoughtfully counseling patients—from pre-test counseling and relaying test results to navigating the legal implications of hereditary conditions and coping with the resulting psychological challenges. Cancer Genetics: A Clinical Approach is ideal for both specialized cancer genetics clinics or any healthcare professional seeking to improve their skills in identifying patients with possible hereditary cancer syndromes and recognizing which ones should be referred to a high-risk/clinical genetics specialty program.

Prostate cancer is by far the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of death due to cancer. It comprises a mixed group of tumours displaying varying clinical behaviour: while some have a very aggressive course, others are rather indolent. Prevention of prostate cancer and discrimination between aggressive and indolent forms are important clinical goals and the acquisition of significant new evidence on means of achieving these aims makes this book particularly timely. A wide range of topics are covered by leading authorities in the field. The biology and natural history of prostate cancer are reviewed and the role of lifestyle and dietary factors, assessed. Detailed attention is paid to risk prediction biomarkers and to the role of novel high-throughput nucleic acid-based technologies in improving risk prediction and thereby allowing tailored approaches to cancer prevention. Potential means of chemoprevention of prostate cancer are also reviewed in depth, covering the very positive new data on the impact of aspirin as well as evidence regarding 5α-reductase inhibitors, DFMO and lycopene. Guidance is provided on the differentiation of aggressive from indolent disease and the policy and research implications of recent findings are examined. This book will be of interest to both clinicians and researchers.

Based on the National Academy of Sciences approach to quantitative risk assessment. Emphasizes how an accurate assessment of cancer risk must draw on a wide range of disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and the social sciences. Provides tables of Poisson confidence limit fa

Showcasing the expertise of top-tier specialists who contributed to the newly released guidelines for the care of thrombosis in cancer patients, this exciting guide was written and edited by members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology panel, (ASCO), on the prevention and treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis, among others, and provides

Much of the more than 30 million tons of asbestos used in the United States since 1900 is still present as insulation in offices and schools, as vinyl-asbestos flooring in homes, and in other common products. This volume presents a comprehensive evaluation of the relation of these fibers to specific diseases and the extent of nonoccupational risks associated with them. It covers sources of asbestiform fibers, properties of the fibers, and carcinogenic and fibrogenic risks they pose.