[Lani]

I think that is an oversimplification

Breast cancer is not one disease but many diseases.

They have so far found a gene responsible for less than 5% of all kinds of breast cancer put together.

The real fallacy I think is assuming that what we know know is worth generalizing about--- it is such a tip on the iceberg.

I heard from someone that the answer to the boards examination that medical students take after finishing their medical school/residency change every 3 years (as new research disproves old) and I heard that over 30 years ago.

I don't think we know much-- we are learning that problems with telomeres increase genomic instability which can be the source of so much heterogeneity within tumors. The speed with which knowledge improves is going up asssymptotically (incredibly more than linearly) as computers do much of the numbers crunching and looking for patterns and as gene/protein/microRNA/mRNA analysis of tumors becomes subject to a faster and faster automated process.

So keep tuning in for new findings and hope doctors have enough time to keep reading the literature (even just in their own field) as it is voluminous and changing quickly. Doubt they have enough time to read it all AND treat patients AND/OR do research. Conferences help inform them of the major advances-- we hope the little ones (like the initial anecdotal evidence of trying IT herceptin for leptomeningeal metastasis) don't stay under the radar--this is a major motivator for keeping this site informed and hoping the word spreads.