Genomic Test Could Help Breast Cancer Patients Avoid Chemotherapy
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\nA major international trial suggests that millions of breast cancer patients could safely avoid chemotherapy by using a genomic test to assess the risk of cancer returning.<\/p>\n
The Optima trial, led by University College London, followed more than 4,000 patients with newly diagnosed hormone-positive breast cancer across several countries. The study found that patients with a low score on the Prosigna genomic test could be treated with hormone therapy alone, with outcomes almost identical to those who received chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
The Prosigna test analyzes the activity of 50 genes in tumor tissue and helps doctors determine whether chemotherapy is likely to provide meaningful benefit. Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common form of the disease, accounting for up to 80 percent of breast cancer cases globally.<\/p>\n
Five years after treatment, 95 percent of patients who received chemotherapy and hormone therapy were alive and free from recurrence, compared with 94 percent of those who received hormone therapy alone after a low test score.<\/p>\n
Researchers said the findings could support more personalized breast cancer care and spare many patients the physical and emotional side effects of unnecessary chemotherapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Genomic Test Could Help Breast Cancer Patients Avoid Chemotherapy ————————————————————— A major international trial suggests that millions of breast cancer patients could safely avoid chemotherapy by using a genomic test to assess the risk of cancer returning. The Optima trial, led by University College London, followed more than 4,000 patients with newly diagnosed hormone-positive breast …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[8955],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medical-news"],"yoast_head":"\n