Contact: Will Sansom
Phone: (210) 567-2579
E-mail: sansom@uthscsa.edu

Muralidhar Beeram, M.D., to speak at fifth annual Alamo City Breast Council Cancer Update.
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Nationally recognized experts, including Muralidhar Beeram, M.D., assistant clinical professor in the divisions of Hematology and Medical Oncology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will speak at the fifth annual Alamo City Breast Council Cancer Update.

The event is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Health Science Center School of Nursing. Although the conference is free to the public, registration is required. The public can register by calling the American Cancer Society, (210) 614-4212, and leaving a name, number and address.

Health care professionals can register and apply for continuing education credits by accessing the
conference brochure. Payment should be made at the door and checks may be made payable to “UTHSCSA.” Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Hormone receptor presentation
Dr. Beeram, one of nine speakers (see times and titles in the brochure), will discuss “Hormone Receptors: What’s the Story?” at 9:15 a.m. For a general audience, he will answer:

• If a breast tumor tests positive for hormone receptors, what does that mean?
  
• How does a tumor’s receptor status change the treatment options, and what can the person expect in terms of long-term outcome?
  
• How are tumors tested for receptors?
  
• How do today’s therapies act?

“The receptor profile of a woman’s breast cancer is very important because it can determine the therapy that is prescribed for her and is one predictor of her long-term outcome,” Dr. Beeram said.

The estrogen receptor is undoubtedly the best known of the receptors. The female body produces estrogen, a hormone, for a host of purposes, including the proliferation of breast cells. Estrogen is known to exert greater influence on a tumor that has estrogen receptors than on a tumor that does not have estrogen receptors. Treatments must take into account this difference.

“Exposing an estrogen receptor to estrogen is like adding fuel to the fire in breast cancer, but today there are treatments to help this subset of breast cancer patients,” Dr. Beeram said.

Pamela Otto, M.D., notes that breast self-exams and mammography are important tools in the early detection of breast cancer.

Otto delivers 2007 imaging update
During a Health and Wellness Brown Bag discussion at the Health Science Center in September, Pamela Otto, M.D., noted that although radiologists have more ways than ever to detect and evaluate breast cancers, nothing is taking the place of breast self-exams and mammography for the earliest detection of the disease.

Breast self-examination is important
The breast self-exam should continue to be emphasized today, said Dr. Otto, professor of radiology at the Health Science Center and leader of the breast imaging team at University Hospital. “It is not that difficult,” she said. “Breasts tend to feel ‘lumpy bumpy,’ but what you are feeling for is that new lump. It is like the illustration of a bowl of jellybeans with one marble in it. You can feel the difference.”

Mammogram recommendations
A clinical breast exam should be performed by a physician every three years in women 20 to 39, and every year thereafter, Dr. Otto noted. American Cancer Society guidelines for screening mammography call for a baseline mammogram at age 40, and a follow-up mammogram every year thereafter.

Mammography, which provides two views of each breast, has a sensitivity of 74 percent to 94 percent for the detection of breast cancers. Of women who have a mammogram, 10 percent to 15 percent are asked to return for follow-up imaging. “Recalls scare women, but keep in mind that tissues and densities of the breast overlie each other, and we need more than two views in these cases,” Dr. Otto said.

Population studies have found that having regular mammograms increases breast cancer detection and decreases disease mortality. “It has been shown that 41.6 percent of cancers were found by mammography and 8.7 percent were found by self-exam alone, so do it!” Dr. Otto said.

She briefly touched on other imaging methods used by radiologists, including MRI, ultrasound and stereotactic biopsies, digital mammography, and advanced applications such as tomosynthesis and use of positron emission tomography (PET) with CT scans for staging and restaging of disease.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.