Pancreatic stellate cells, which normally aid tissue repair, unwittingly help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in a method of "cell hijack" only seen before in brain and breast cancer, according to new research.

Young women who smoke and have been smoking a pack a day for a decade or more have a significantly increased risk of developing the most common type of breast cancer. The study indicates that an increased risk of breast cancer may be another health risk incurred by young women who smoke.

Nearly 70 percent of patients with advanced breast cancer experience skeletal metastasis, in which cancer cells migrate from a primary tumor into bone -- a painful development that can cause fractures and spinal compression. While scientists are attempting to better understand metastasis in general, not much is known about how and why certain cancers spread to specific organs, such as bone, liver, and lungs. Now researchers have developed a three-dimensional microfluidic platform that mimics the spread of breast cancer cells into a bonelike environment.

The of new research findings offer the possibility of expanding the ways patients with breast cancer are treated with hormone therapy.

Digital mammography screening with new photon-counting technique offers high diagnostic performance, according to a new study.

Adoption of new guidelines recommending screening mammography every two years for women ages 50 to 74 would result in breast cancer screening that is equally effective, while saving the United States $4.3 billion a year in health care costs, according to a study.

Age is a key risk factor for breast cancer. A recent study examines the connection between cancer and the aging process to see if epigenetic DNA alterations might contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk.

Scientists have discovered a potential cure for one of the most aggressive and least treatable forms of breast cancer called "triple negative breast cancer."

Contrary to existing understanding, long-term follow-up of patients with two types of breast tissue abnormalities suggests that both types of abnormalities have the same potential to progress to breast cancer, according to a study published. Findings from this study could improve clinical management of patients with breast tissue abnormalities.

While ultrasound provides a less expensive and radiation-free alternative to detecting and monitoring cancer compared to technologies such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs, the lower clarity and resolution of ultrasound has limited its use in cancer treatment. Researchers have overcome this limitation by combining ultrasound with a contrast agent comprised of micro-sized bubbles that pair with an antibody produced at elevated levels by many cancers.