Triple-negative breast cancer means that the pathology report has shown the cancer to be estrogen receptor negative, progesterone receptor negative, and HER2 negative.

Results published in Clinical Cancer Research found that women with triple negative breast cancer have an increased risk of metastatic disease and death during the first few years after diagnoses, but not after that time period.

A study was conducted among 1,601 breast cancer patients. One hundred and eighty women (11.2%) had triple negative breast cancer.

The results of the study:

A study published in the journal Cancer says that improvements in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer are making a difference and patients are living longer with the disease.

Researchers in Canada conducted a study evaluating 2,000 women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. The time periods in the study were broken up into four groups dating from 1991 until 2001. The researchers concluded that one year survival improved from 55 percent to 71 percent and two year survival improved from 33 percent to 45 percent.

The introduction of new chemotherapy drugs, new approaches to hormonal therapy, and new targeted therapy have been introduced over the period of time evaluated in the study.

Tykerb (lapatinib) may be effective at shrinking breast cancer tumors in the brain, researchers say. This drug is called a targeted therapy because it can kill cancer cells and leave normal cells alone. Tykerb targets HER2 and EGFR, two proteins that function abnormally in breast cancer cells.

A study was conducted that included 241 breast cancer patients with brain metastasis that continued to progress after radiation treatment and Herceptin therapy.

The study concluded that nearly half of the patients, 46 percent, experienced at least a twenty percent reduction in the size the the brain tumors.

The researchers concluded "Tykerb has promise in the treatment of brain metastasis".

The new approved treatment for spine metastasis uses radiofrequency to kill cancer cells in the spine. After the radiofrequency is delivered to the area with cancer, a type of cement mixture is delivered into the cavity site to fill the empty space which was once occupied by the cancer. This step provides stability to the spine.

This new treatment called Cavity Spinewand minimizes damage to the surrounding tissue since the treatment is placed directly where the cancer cells reside. Patients treated with this method have reported significant pain relief, sometimes even complete pain relief.

Less pain means improved quality of life, mobility and enables patients to continue on with their scheduled chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

There are several treatment options for liver metastasis, one being surgery. Results published in the Archives of Surgery state that repeat surgery to remove cancer that has spread to the liver provides significantly improved survival among patients with colorectal cancer.

The surgery, called hepatectomy, is the surgical removal of cancer and the surrounding tissue. Researchers recently evaluated data including treatment with repeat hepatectomies among patients with colorectal cancer and liver metastasis. The study included 64 patients who underwent one or more hepatectomies followed by chemotherapy.

At five years the overall survival was 53 percent. Among patients who experienced a cancer recurrence, five-year overall survival measured from the first hepatectomy was 73 percent among patients who underwent repeated hepatectomy, compared with 43 percent among patients without repeated surgery.

At the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, results were presented from a clinical trial that stated -- Continuous maintenance therapy may improve survival among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Maintenance therapy is used when a patient's cancer is stable and not exhibiting signs of progression. Researchers want to find a way to improve survival, but they also want to find a program that is not too intense and will have limited side effects.

This brings us to the study that was done on 202 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The patients were split in two groups, one group received continuous maintenance chemotherapy with a drug called Eloxatin (oxaliplatin). The second group was only treated again with chemotherapy once their cancer had started to progress.

A late-breaking session at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) says that "Patients with colorectal cancer whose cancer has spread to the liver have improved survival without cancer recurrences when they receive chemotherapy prior to and following surgery, compared to those treated with surgery only."

Adjuvant chemotherapy is when chemo is used after surgery. Neoadjuvant treatment is when chemotherapy is given to shrink the tumor to allow for better surgical removal.

The second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States is colorectal cancer. Liver metastasis is common among patients with advanced disease. A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the use of chemotherapy before and after surgery compared to surgery alone. The trial included 364 patients who were divided into two treatment groups.

At nearly four years' followup, recurrence-free survival was 42.4 percent for patients receiving chemotherapy before and after surgery, compared with only 33.2 percent for those treated with surgery only.

Melanoma that has spread to other areas of the body is a very difficult cancer to treat successfully. It usually does not respond well to chemotherapy. Sadly, those diagnosed with metastatic melanoma survive only about a year after diagnosis.

The combination of Taxol (paclitaxel) with carboplatin, added to an agent that prevents the growth of blood vessels called bevacizumab has been shown to significantly delay the spread of tumors in patients with advanced melanoma. A Phase II clinical trial showed that tumor growth was delayed by almost six months; typically these cancers begin to start spreading again in about eight weeks.

Dr. Domingo Perez, M.D., the lead author of the study says "The clinical benefit may seem small, but in the world of melanoma where there is very little progress, this is certainly a strong indication that the combination of chemotherapy with an antiangiogenic agent may be a valid treatment strategy for these patients."

Twenty to thirty percent of breast cancers over express a protein referred to as the human epidermal growth factor receptor, better known as HER2 over expression.

Herceptin is an agent that is targeted against the HER2 receptor and helps to slow or stop the spread of cancer cells that over express this protein. Unfortunately, some women that do have the over expression of HER2 on their breast cancer cells do not respond to treatment with Herceptin.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute has published a report that says among breast cancer patients with HER2 over expressing cancer cells, those whose cells also express a receptor called p95HER2 have a poor anti-cancer response rate with Herceptin.

The study included forty seven women with metastatic breast cancer. All were treated with Herceptin. Nine of these patients also expressed the receptor p95HER2.

The results showed that only 11 percent of the women with the p95HER2 expression showed an anti-cancer response to Herceptin. Of the patients who did not express p95HER2 demonstrated a response of 51 percent. The report also showed that laboratory testing of cancer cells that do express p95HER2 demonstrated anti-cancer activity with a drug called Tykerb.

The researchers concluded that patients with HER2-over expressing breast cancer who also express p95HER2 appear to be more resistant to treatment with Herceptin and "may require alternative or additional anti-HER2–targeting strategies." Patients with HER2-over expressing breast cancer may wish to speak with their physician regarding their individual risks and benefits of participating in a clinical trial further evaluating biologic markers that may help predict responses to certain therapies.

In the news there has been a lot of questioning whether or not it is wise for someone diagnosed with cancer, and needs therapy or treatments to control their cancer, should still work or carry on with their life the way it was before cancer entered into their lives.

Its a good question -- but all cancer survivors or patients must make this decision themselves and should not be judged either way. Treatments can be physically mild or debilitating and everywhere in between.

I know women who are walking in Elizabeth Edward's shoes and have metastatic breast cancer. These women that I know might not be blazing the campaign trail but they are still keepin-on- keepin-on with life like it was before their breast cancer returned. They still get up and go to work, do the laundry, feed their children, all the normal things that you and I do everyday. Not to say that days can't be really tough, emotionally and physically. But I see women who are living with the disease -- really living and not giving up any of their dreams.

I can't really speak for women with metastatic disease, I can only talk about what I see, because I am not walking in their shoes and don't completely understand what it is like living with recurrent breast cancer.

Recurrent breast cancer can mean being on some kind of cancer treatment for the rest of your life, it can mean long times of remission or no evidence of disease.

Can it mean Elizabeth Edwards being first lady with metastatic breast disease? I think so.

In the April issue of the journal Radiology, researchers published a report that says they have used adult bone marrow stem cells to regenerate healthy human liver tissue.

When cancer invades the liver sometimes it is impossible to have surgery performed to remove the tumor. This is because there is not enough healthy liver left behind to support the body. These stems cells help to regenerate the healthy portion of the liver so surgery can be performed.

Gunther Furst, M.D, coauthor and professor of radiology, says "Our study suggests that liver stem cells harvested from the patients own bone marrow can further augment and accelerate the liver's natural capacity to regenerate itself."

I just finished watching the press conference held by John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards. Elizabeth stated that she had some tests earlier in the week that confirmed her breast cancer has metastasized to the bone.

John and Elizabeth said they will continue on with their campaign -- they seemed to have a very positive attitude. They are happy that the cancer is confined to the bone and has not spread to other organs in her body.

Being a breast cancer survivor, I know women who have been diagnosed with advanced disease. Many are living fulfilling lives even though they must always be on some form of treatment. At this day and age advanced breast cancer cannot be cured but can be successfully treated. There are many therapies available for Elizabeth.

I applaud her courage -- Elizabeth said "she wants to live next week the same way she lived last week." Its easy to crawl up in a ball, getting a Stage IV diagnosis is hard to take. Her husband said that no matter where he is or what he is doing he will be there for Elizabeth whenever she needs him.

Patients who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver are usually treated with resection of the colorectal cancer, followed by chemotherapy and then have another surgery to resect the disease from the liver.

The Society of Surgical Oncology's 60Th Annual Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C. presented information that this might not be the best approach or strategy for some patients.

Patients with minor liver involvement, resection of the colorectal cancer and the liver cancer can be surgically removed at the same time, involving one surgical procedure, safely.

Dr. Bryan M Clary, from Duke University Medical Center, says "These days, there is a more liberal definition of what is resectable. If all clinically evident disease can be removed, while leaving that person with enough liver tissue that it can function, that in general is the standard definition of resectable for healthy patients."

Dr. Clary estimates that about half of patients with colorectal and liver tumors may be good candidates for simultaneous surgery. however, he cautions, a multidisciplinary center is required that includes medical and surgical oncologists skilled in colorectal surgery, as well as surgeons specialized in liver surgery.

An article recently published in the journal Cancer says that middle-aged men who are obese at the time of diagnoses of prostate cancer have a significantly worse overall survival than those who are not overweight.

Researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center recently conducted a clinical study to further evaluate potential associations between obesity and outcomes among patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. This study included 752 middle-aged men diagnosed with the disease.

They concluded that the men with the highest body fat had an approximate 2.5 fold increase in risk of death from prostate cancer. Also, the obese men had a 3.5 fold increased risk of metastasis.

Tykerb has been approved by the FDA for use in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug Xeloda. Tykerb is a cancer medication that more precisely targets tumors without killing lots of healthy cells in the process.

Herceptin and Tykerb target a protein called HER-2/neu but work in different ways. Herceptin targets the outside of the HER2 protein and Tykerb works from the inside of the cell. This difference can give advanced breast cancer patients another drug to switch to if Herceptin stops working for them.

Glaxo said that Tykerb will be available in two weeks. The results of a study showed that Tykerb worked so well that the international study was stopped early and all the participants were offered the drug.

The FDA said it was too early to know if women taking Tykerb and Xeloda would live longer than those taking the latter drug alone.

Dr. Steven Galson, FDA drugs chief, said "Today's approval is a step forward in making new treatments available for patients who have progression of their breast cancer after treatment with some of the most effective breast cancer therapies available."