Evaluation of the impact of National Breast Cancer Foundation-funded research

© Copyright 2014. The Medical Journal of Australia - reproduced with permission.Objective: To evaluate the impact of the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s (NBCF’s) research investment. Design and participants: Surveys based on the Payback Framework were sent to chief investigators involved in research funded by the NBCF during 1995–2012; a bibliometric analysis of NBCF-funded publications in 2006–2010 was conducted; and a purposive, stratified sample of case studies was obtained. Main outcome measures: Research impact on knowledge production, the research system, informing policy, product development and broader health and economic benefits. Results: Of 242 surveys sent, 153 (63%) were returned. The average impact of journals in which NBCF publications appeared was double that of world publications. Seventy surveys (46%) reported career progression, and 185 higher degrees were obtained or expected, including 121 PhDs. One hundred and one grants (66%) produced tools that built capacity across the research system, and research teams leveraged an additional $1.40 in funding for every dollar invested. Fifteen applied grants and one basic grant impacted on policy. Ten basic and four applied grants led to the development of drugs, prognostic tools or diagnostic technologies. Twenty applied and two basic grants led to changes in practice and behaviour of health care staff, consumers and the public, with further impacts anticipated. Case studies provided illustrations of high impact. Conclusions: NBCF’s strategy of investing in a mixed portfolio of research areas and mechanisms encouraged a broad range of impacts across all Payback categories. The impacts from basic research tended to focus on knowledge production and drug development; while applied research generated greater impacts within the other Payback categories. The funding of shared infrastructure stimulated impact across the research system

Graduate Recital: Sean Breast, Euphonium

Kemp Recital Hall April 7, 2018 Saturday Afternoon 2:00p.m

Concert recording 2015-04-18

[Track 01]. Sonata for flute in E♭. Allegro ; [Track 02]. Sicilliana ; [Track 03]. Allegro / J.S. Bach ; arranged by Benjamin Pierce -- [Track 04]. Soliloquy IX / Christopher Wiggins -- [Track 05]. Five portraits from Middle Earth. Gandalf ; [Track 06]. Gollum ; [Track 07]. Bilbo Baggins ; [Track 08]. Balrog! ; [Track 09]. Tom Bombadil / Rodney Newton -- [Track 10]. As wonderful things drift by / Jiro Censhu -- [Track 11]. Aimons nous / Camille Saint-Saëns -- [Track 12]. The southern cross / Herbert L. Clarke

Association of Body Mass Index and Age With Subsequent Breast Cancer Risk in Premenopausal Women

IMPORTANCE The association between increasing body mass index (BMI; calculated as wei ght in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and risk of breast cancer is unique in cancer epidemiology in that a crossover effect exists, with risk reduction before and risk increase after menopause. The inverse association with premenopausal breast cancer risk is poorly characterized but might be important in the understanding of breast cancer causation. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of BMI with premenopausal breast cancer risk, in particular by age at BMI, attained age, risk factors for breast cancer, and tumor characteristics. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This multicenter analysis used pooled individual-level data from 758 592 premenopausal women from 19 prospective cohorts to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of premenopausal breast cancer in association with BMI from ages 18 through 54 years using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Median follow-up was 9.3 years (interquartile range, 4.9-13.5 years) per participant, with 13 082 incident cases of breast cancer. Participants were recruited from January 1,1963, through December 31, 2013, and data were analyzed from September 1.2013, through December 31, 2017. EXPOSURES Body mass index at ages 18 to 24, 25 to 34,35 to 44, and 45 to 54 years. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Invasive or in situ premenopausal breast cancer. RESULTS Among the 758 592 premenopausal women (median age, 40.6 years; interquartile range, 35.2-45.5 years) included in the analysis, inverse linear associations of BMI with breast cancer risk were found that were stronger for BMI at ages 18 to 24 years (HR per 5 kg/m(2) [5.0-U] difference, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.73-0.80) than for BMI at ages 45 to 54 years (HR per 5.0-U difference, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.86-0.91). The inverse associations were observed even among nonoverweight women. There was a 4.2-fold risk gradient between the highest and lowest BMI categories (BMI >= 35.0 vs CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The results of this study suggest that increased adiposity is associated with a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer at a greater magnitude than previously shown and across the entire distribution of BMI. The strongest associations of risk were observed for BMI in early adulthood. Understanding the biological mechanisms underlying these associations could have important preventive potential.Peer reviewe

PRACTICE POINTS: Breast cancer guidelines for Uganda

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer in Uganda is the third commonest cancer in women coming only next to cancer of the cervix and Kaposi's sarcoma. The incidence of breast cancer in Uganda has doubled from 11:100,000 in 1961 to 22:100,000 in 1995. Unfortunately the cases are often seen in late stages thus the outcome of treatment is inevitably unsatisfactory. The present day knowledge of this disease does not have any effective primary prevention. It is thus imperative that efforts should be made to detect the disease in its early stages. Mammography has been found to be useful but it is not applicable as a means of mass screening in Uganda (there are only 2 mammography units in Uganda. Public education towards Breast Self Examination (BSE) should be propagated because it is practical and affordable. African Health Sciences 2003 3(1); 47-5

Analysis of rare disruptive germline mutations in 2,135 enriched BRCA-negative breast cancers excludes additional high-impact susceptibility genes

Acknowledgements We thank all the subjects and families that participated in the research. We thank those at the ICR, past and present, for their assistance in patient recruitment, sample management, and management of the sequencing facility. We are grateful to all the clinicians and counsellors in The Breast and Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Collaboration who have contributed to the recruitment and collection of samples. The full list of contributors is provided in the Appendix. Funding This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [grants numbers C8620/A8372, C8620/A8857]; the Institute of Cancer Research (no grant number); NHS to the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden ras part of a joint entity referred to as the National Institute of Health Research Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer.Peer reviewedPublisher PD