Millions of women around the world are suffering from breast cancer. In a major breakthrough, scientists have developed a genomic test that can determine which patients will benefit from chemotherapy and which can actually skip it, according to recent trial results.
While the international study found that more than two-thirds of its participants could safely avoid chemotherapy and be treated with hormone therapy alone.
Specifically, a study led by University College London included more than 4,000 newly diagnosed patients over the age of 40 in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.
A gene test called ProSigna was used to measure the activity of 50 genes involved in the development of breast cancer.
It was observed that patients who received low scores ignored chemotherapy. The results showed that the survival rate in this group was 93.7%, while the survival rate in patients who received chemotherapy was 94.9%.
UCL noted that physicians are concerned about prescribing a treatment that offers only modest efficacy on patients with the most common type of breast cancer.
The university further clarified that more than 5,000 NHS patients could avoid chemotherapy as a result of these findings. Karen Boneman, who took part in the trial, confirmed that the results had brought her a tremendous sense of relief.
The 64-year-old woman was extremely satisfied with the Prosigna trial. She said: “Cancer diagnosis and treatment can be shocking.”
“It definitely takes you into a world of uncertainty. Life’s priorities get rearranged and you just want to survive.”
The trial’s principal investigator, Professor Rob Stein, also shared his comments, saying: “These results are an important and significant step towards more personalized treatments.”
“The trial has successfully used tumor biology to make decisions rather than relying solely on traditional clinical features.
“For patients, this means many can avoid the physical and emotional burden of chemotherapy and its potential long-term side effects.
UCL further said that further research is needed to determine whether these findings are broad enough to apply to patients under the age of 40.
