In a new study, researchers found that a breast cancer test can help doctors determine the best treatment for women with breast cancer.
The test is a multigene test called EndoPredict (Myriad Genetics). It can predict whether chemotherapy will work for a patient or not.
The research was conducted by a team from the UK, Spain, and Austria.
Previous research has shown that more than 80% of breast cancer patients are diagnosed as oestrogen-receptor positive. This means cancer grows in response to the hormone oestrogen.
In the study, the team found that the test could predict if chemotherapy would be beneficial for patients with the most common type of breast cancer.
With the test, patients with a high risk of metastasis can receive chemotherapy, while patients with a lower-risk of metastasis can skip the treatment and its harmful side effects.
The researchers analyzed data from three large clinical studies, which included a total of 3,746 women.
These women received treatments including hormone therapy and chemotherapy.
The team found that women with a high EndoPredict test result—indicating a high risk of metastasis—who received chemotherapy in addition to hormonal therapy had better 10-year outcomes than those who only received hormonal therapy.
The finding shows that EndoPredict is not only a prognostic test but also can help predict the outcomes of chemotherapy.
The team hopes this test can be more commonly used to determine whether chemotherapy will effectively treat a patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
This can ultimately help clinicians in their decision-making about the best treatment for patients.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Ivana Sestak of the Queen Mary University of London.
The study is published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.
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