Aggregated News
A new test might allow some women with the earliest phase of breast cancer to forgo the most aggressive treatment, researchers are reporting this week.
The test analyzes gene activity in tissue surgically removed from women with ductal carcinoma in situ to predict how likely it is that cancer will come back. Those with the lowest risk of recurrence might be spared radiation treatment.
The developer of the test, the biotechnology company Genomic Health, already sells a widely used test, known as Oncotype DX, that predicts the chance of recurrence for certain types of early-stage invasive breast cancer. That allows some women deemed to have a low risk to skip chemotherapy.
The company now hopes to apply the same technique to ductal carcinoma in situ, a noninvasive lesion in the milk ducts. Results describing the accuracy of the new test will be presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
There are about 45,000 cases diagnosed per year in the United States, almost all of them picked up by mammograms. There is controversy about whether these lesions should even...
The test analyzes gene activity in tissue surgically removed from women with ductal carcinoma in situ to predict how likely it is that cancer will come back. Those with the lowest risk of recurrence might be spared radiation treatment.
The developer of the test, the biotechnology company Genomic Health, already sells a widely used test, known as Oncotype DX, that predicts the chance of recurrence for certain types of early-stage invasive breast cancer. That allows some women deemed to have a low risk to skip chemotherapy.
The company now hopes to apply the same technique to ductal carcinoma in situ, a noninvasive lesion in the milk ducts. Results describing the accuracy of the new test will be presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
There are about 45,000 cases diagnosed per year in the United States, almost all of them picked up by mammograms. There is controversy about whether these lesions should even...