Dr. Ruth Heimann

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  www.vermontcancer.org/index.php?id=102 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/21/2008    Last Visited: 7/21/2008  

  Ruth Heimann
  
  Vermont Cancer Center - Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD
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  Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD
  
  Professor, Radiation OncologyDepartment of Radiation Oncology
  
  Research Program: Clinical ResearchVCC Membership Level: Affiliate Member
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  Dr. Heimann received her MD from the New Jersey Medical School and did her residency in Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.Prior to that she received her doctoral degree from Harvard University in toxicology and cell biology.Before coming to UVM and Fletcher Allen Health Care in 2003, Dr. Heimann was an Associate Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago Pritzker Medical School, and Director of the University's Breast Program at the Center for Radiation Therapy.She is currently a full professor at the University of Vermont, and attending physician in Radiation Oncology at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
  
  Research
  
  Dr Heimann's scientific and research interests include outcome analysis and the natural history of breast cancer, prognostic markers in breast cancer, lymphedema, as well as research, development, and implementation of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in breast and gastrointestinal malignancies.

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  www.vermontcancer.org/index.php?id=24 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/21/2008    Last Visited: 7/21/2008  

  Ruth Heimann

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  www.vermontcancer.org/index.php?id=190 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/11/2008    Last Visited: 7/21/2008  

  Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology (alternate)

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  www.expeditioninspiration.org/symposium_attendees.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/11/2008    Last Visited: 5/14/2008  

  Ruth Heimann, MDAssociate Professor, Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago

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  vermontcancer.org/index.php?page=clinical-and-translati - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/11/2008    Last Visited: 10/27/2007  

  Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD*Professor, Radiology

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  AAMC: Behind The Cancer Headlines - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/25/2002    Last Visited: 4/24/2003  

  Dr. Ruth Heimann of the University of Chicago told attendees that patients with early stage breast cancer that has not spread to the lymph nodes (node-negative) are usually offered chemotherapy as a safety precaution, even though they have a 70-80% chance of being cured of the disease by just having the tumor surgically removed. (It is important to note that these odds improve even further with adjuvant radiation therapy.)
  
  However, Heimann reported the discovery of four biochemical markers that appear to be significant in predicting a patientÕs likelihood of developing metastatic disease (disease that has spread to other parts of the body), and thus her need for additional chemotherapy.
  
  Heimann studied tissue taken from women with node-negative breast cancer who had been treated by surgery alone up to an average of 14 years ago.She looked for the markers which are already known to play a role in cancer metastasis, and found that four specific markers were detectable in the tissue and could be used to predict the outcome of node-negative breast cancer: p53 (the tumor suppressor gene which is involved in many cancers); E-cadherin (the gene involved in making cells stick together); and nm23H1 and MMP-2 (two genes involved in cell invasion).
  
  "These markers were independent predictors of outcome, whereas the traditional indicators of tumor size and grade, were not independent," she said."With these markers we can, on one hand, identify node-negative patients with very low likelihood of metastasis, and on the other hand, identify those with a very high likelihood of metastasis."
  
  She added that such an accurate predictor of the risk of metastasis in patients could enable physicians to individually tailor treatments, and to give chemotherapy only to the women who would most benefit from it.
  
  "However, despite the fact that we can identify women with a low probability of metastasis, as well as those with a high probability," she cautioned, "there is still a middle group of women in whom further work needs to be done."

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  About AWCN - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/18/2003    Last Visited: 12/21/2004  

  "But when you look at survival as the end point, rather than actual breast cancer events, you're really not getting the accurate picture on the benefits of mammogram for this age group," says Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD, a cancer researcher at the University of Chicago who was not involved in this study."What happens is that after age 50, [heart] disease becomes the leading cause of death in women and a majority of women with early-stage breast cancer ultimately die from heart disease -- and not from the breast cancer itself.
  
  "Because of this method of calculating results, it has led to disagreement between physicians groups and a lot of confusion among women younger than 50 on whether or not they should have mammogram screenings," she tells WebMD."But this study only reinforces my advice: Get a mammogram starting at age 40 and have it done yearly, not every two years.The earlier you detect breast cancer, no matter the age, the better off you are."
  
  SOURCES: Cancer, Jan. 15, 2003 * The Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 11, 1995 * Tim Byers, MD, MPH, professor of preventive medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver * Sandra Buseman, MD, MSPH, physician specialist, Albany County Health Department, Albany, New York * Ruth Heimann, MD, PhD, professor of radiation and cellular oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center.

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  Am-I-Pregnant.com: Birth Control Pill Can Increase... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/17/2001    Last Visited: 6/24/2002  

  Professor Ruth Heimann told conference participants her team discovered four such markers in breast cancer tissue samples -- factors that can adequately predict whether a woman's cancer may spread.
  
  "If we have more accurate knowledge of the risk of metastasis in an individual patient, based on these biomarkers, we could tailor treatments and give chemotherapy only to the women who really need it," Heimann reported at the proceedings.
  
  Although the American researchers say they can now accurately predict women at lowest and highest risk for cancer spreading, they remain unsure about those in the middle.More study is needed, they say, before the finding can benefit all breast cancer patients.
  
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  Faculty | Radiology | Residency & Fellowship Programs... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/4/2008    Last Visited: 7/4/2008  

  Dr. Ruth Heimann

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  Healthtalk / Healthscout News - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/1/2002    Last Visited: 4/6/2002  

  Professor Ruth Heimann told conference participants her team discovered four such markers in breast cancer tissue samples -- factors that can adequately predict whether a woman's cancer may spread.
  
  "If we have more accurate knowledge of the risk of metastasis in an individual patient, based on these biomarkers, we could tailor treatments and give chemotherapy only to the women who really need it," Heimann reported at the proceedings.
  
  Although the American researchers say they can now accurately predict women at lowest and highest risk for cancer spreading, they remain unsure about those in the middle.More study is needed, they say, before the finding can benefit all breast cancer patients.
  
  What To Do
  
  Find out about other breast cancer risk factors in the HealthTalk Breast Cancer Education Network table of contents.

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