Laura Esserman

Nov 6, 2024 | cell.com | Michael Campbell |Denise Wolf |Christina Yau |Lamorna Brown-Swigart |Isela R. Gallagher |Zelos Zhu | +20 more

ResultsA total of 69 HER2− patients (40 HR+HER2− and 29 TN) were randomized to receive 4 cycles of pembrolizumab in combination with weekly paclitaxel followed by anthracycline chemotherapy (Pembro+T → AC). In addition, there were 181 HER2− patients (96 HR+HER2− and 85 TN) randomized to the standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy control group (T → AC). We utilized three assay platforms to characterize the tumor immune microenvironment in these patients (Figure 1).

Oct 14, 2024 | nature.com | Tianyi Wang |Yash S. Huilgol |Deborah Goodman |Elissa Ozanne |Yiwey Shieh |Jeffrey K. Belkora | +5 more

Breast cancer risk reduction strategies have been well-validated, but barriers remain for high-risk individuals to adopt them. We performed a study among participants with high risk of breast cancer to validate whether a virtual breast health decision tool impacted a participant’s willingness to start risk-reducing activities, identify barriers to adopting these strategies, and understand if it affects breast cancer anxiety. The study sample was 318 participants in the personalized (investigational) arm of the Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of risk (WISDOM) clinical trial. After reviewing the tool, these participants completed a feedback survey. We demonstrated that 15 (4.7%) women were taking endocrine risk reduction, 123 (38.7%) were reducing alcohol intake, and 199 (62.6%) were exercising. In the three-month follow-up survey of 109 respondents, only 8 of 61 (13.1%) women who considered endocrine risk reduction pursued it. In contrast, 11 of 16 (68%) participants who considered alcohol reduction pursued the activity, and 14 of 24 (58%) women who considered exercise followed through. Participants listed fear of side effects as the most common barrier to endocrine risk reduction. We also present further steps to be taken to improve the effectiveness of the Breast Health Decisions tool.

Jul 24, 2024 | urotoday.com | Laura Esserman

Read the Full Video TranscriptLaura Esserman: So what's in a name? There is, of course, inadvertent harm from the designation and the label of cancer. We all know that now cancer is a collection of heterogeneous diseases, which we did not know way back when. Now, Webster's definition is, when you look it up, this is what patients think. It's "A blight, a disease that, left untreated, will kill you." So if it doesn't do that, is that the right term for it? You have to think about that.

Sep 26, 2023 | saludconlupa.com | Laura Esserman |Scott Eggener

“Tienes cáncer”. Puedes preguntárselo a cualquiera que le hayan dicho eso: es aterrador. Esa es una de las razones por las que debemos replantearnos lo que llamamos cáncer.

Sep 5, 2023 | khaleejtimes.com | Laura Esserman |Scott Eggener

Not everything we call cancer should be called cancer Calling something cancer can lead to aggressive treatment even if the cancer in question is unlikely to cause problems.