Do soy milk, a soy burger and a soy cookie make for a breast cancer preventative lunch? Should you serve soy supplements on the side and increase the benefits of soy? Soy foods are associated with a small reduction in risk of breast cancer but meta-analysis does not find enough benefits to recommend use of soy supplements according to Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D., a professor of oncology at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center who studies the role of food-based estrogens in cancer prevention. She cautions against overuse of soy supplements, particularly by women at high risk for breast cancer or by breast cancer survivors. To arrange an interview with Dr. Hilakivi-Clarke, call 202-687-5100.

Why do some breast care patients respond to chemotherapy and others do not? Proteins associated with the proliferation of cancer cells do not show a strong correlation with whether a treatment will be effective against an individual woman's tumor, says Robert Clarke, Ph.D., a professor of oncology at Georgetown University's Comprehensive Cancer Center, who is identifying biomarkers that are more reliable and specific. Looking for patterns in the biopsies taken before chemotherapy, he is working toward an understanding that will allow the prediction whether a woman will respond to a specific chemotherapy agent. To arrange an interview with Dr. Clarke, call 202-687-5100.