Breast cancer test means 3,000 women a year in the UK could avoid chemotherapy

10,273 women were involved in trials of a genetic breast cancer test, performed on a tumour sample removed during surgery, which analyses the activity levels of 21 genes, which are markers of how aggressive the cancer is. At the moment, women who get a low score on the test are told they do not need chemo, those with a high score are told they definitely do. Cancer doctors said the findings mean about 70% of women with the most common form of early stage breast cancer could be treated safely with just surgery and hormone therapy.
The study, led by the Albert Einstein Cancer Center in New York, is a rare cancer breakthrough as it can save money and instantly change practice. But it is only for early stage breast cancers that can still be treated with hormone therapy, have not spread to the lymph nodes, and do not have the HER2 mutation.
Dr Alistair Ring, a consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, thinks that 3,000 women a year in the UK will not need chemotherapy anymore because of this trial. He said “Oncologists have been waiting for these results, it will affect practice on Monday morning. It’s a fundamental change in the way we look after women with early breast cancer. It’s a great news story.”
Rachel Rawson, from the charity Breast Cancer Care, said: “Every day, women with certain types of breast cancer face the terrible dilemma of whether or not to have the treatment, without hard facts about the benefit for them. This life-changing breakthrough is absolutely wonderful news as it could liberate thousands of women from the agony of chemotherapy.”