A test that looks at 21 genes in a cancerous tumor could allow many patients with the most common early-stage breast cancer to safely abandon chemotherapy after surgery, reports the New England Journal of Medicine. Experts agree that the results of the research will be groundbreaking in the treatment of breast cancer in the coming years.
Research on the effectiveness of the test was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Sparano from Montefiore Medical Center in New York. – We managed to determine that approx. 70 percent. patients who are normally prescribed chemotherapy would not benefit at all. They don’t really need it, announced Dr. Joseph Sparano, who conducted research on breast cancer. – While the remaining 30 percent. will greatly benefit from such treatment, ’emphasized Dr Sparano.
The Oncotype DX test assesses the activity of 21 genes in a sample taken from a patient’s breast tumor and helps decide if chemotherapy is indicated for treatment. The tumor is assigned a ‘relapse score’ on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the score, the greater the chance that the cancer will metastasize to other organs – reducing the chances of survival.
Previous studies have shown that patients with low scores (10 or less) do not need chemotherapy, while if patients with higher scores (greater than 25) receive chemotherapy, the risk of relapse is significantly reduced, increasing the chances of recovery.
However, for the patients with average results, the doctors were not sure what to do. It was not certain whether the benefits of chemotherapy would be great enough to justify the additional risk and toxicity.
The new study looked at women with a score ranging from 11 to 25. They make up the majority of breast cancer patients.
10 women were enrolled in the study with the most common type of breast cancer (hormone receptor-positive, HER-273 negative) that had not spread to the lymph nodes. Researchers checked the results of 2 percent. patients who had intermediate results in a 69 gene test.
Scientists studied patients receiving chemotherapy and those who had not received chemotherapy, assessing parameters such as: tumor recurrence locally or in distant places of the body.
For the entire study population with genetic test results from 11 to 25, and in particular for women aged 50-75, there was no significant difference between the group receiving chemotherapy and those not receiving such treatment.
For women younger than 50, the results were similar for genetic test scores of 15 or less. On the other hand, the results from 16 to 25 were associated with a beneficial effect of chemotherapy on the examined indicators.
– Even for healthy women, chemotherapy can be very tiring and can have a negative impact on quality of life, work performance and family responsibilities. Even if it has minimal negative effects, it’s always better to avoid it when it’s not necessary, explained Dr. Harold Burstein of the Dana-Farber Institute for Cancer Research. Predicting whether chemotherapy will help a patient is a very important discovery. It allows you to be sure about the decision on treatment – he added.
– Thanks to the results of this groundbreaking study, it is possible to safely avoid chemotherapy in about 70% of patients. patients diagnosed with the most common form of breast cancer, one of the authors of the study, Dr. Kathy Albain Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, told the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. “The days of uncertainty are over for countless women and their doctors,” she added.