New developments in the fight against the disease debut every year. Here, three advances that show promise: EARLY-SCREENING TOOL Preliminary findings suggest that cells found in breast milk can be screened for genes known to be associated with cancer. In years to come, a simple milk analysis may identify women at higher risk for developing breast cancer. BETTER RECONSTRUCTION Lumpectomy and radiation preserve breasts but can leave dimples and divots-a problem surgeons have tried to solve in the past by liposuctioning fat and injecting it into the breast. Often, however, the fat dies from a lack of blood or calcifies into lumps that can show up on mammograms. Now researchers are testing a new technique that aims to improve blood supply. It involves processing fat to extract the stem cells; that concentrated teaspoon of cells is then mixed in with the rest of the fat before it's injected into the breast. Results have been encouraging. "In an irradiated breast, these specialized cells turn into more blood vessels and allow the survival of more fat cells;' says Eva Weiler-Mithoff, M.D., a plastic surgeon in Glasgow, Scotland, and one of the investigators of the procedure. In a new study of 71 patients, 82 percent reported good to excellent results with few complications. LIFESAVING LAWS Having dense breasts-meaning they have more connective tissue and less fat than average-raises the risk of cancer up to fivefold and makes mammograms more difficult to interpret. That's because it's hard to distinguish the more compact tissue from potential tumors in X-rays, ... More »