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Controversies in Breast Cancer Research

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Breast Cancer

Abstract

The cover article “Advances in Breast Cancer Research” of a recent Harvard Women’s Health Watch exemplifies why much of breast cancer research remains controversial. Although the article begins, “In the last few months, breast cancer research appears to have undergone a climatic shift,” its content becomes restricted to two drugs for prevention (tamoxifen and raloxifene) and two for treatment (paclitaxel and Herceptin) of the disease (Robb-Nicholson 1998a). By reporting on drugs with side effects, such as increased risk of uterine cancer and blood clots, and with relatively small effects in preventing and treating the disease in certain high risk groups, this article typifies the biomedical approach to illness that characterizes breast cancer research.

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© 2000 Anne S. Kasper, Susan J. Ferguson

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Rosser, S.V. (2000). Controversies in Breast Cancer Research. In: Breast Cancer. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-03779-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-03779-4_9

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-312-29451-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-03779-4

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