But many women also are urged to have chemo, to help kill any stray cancer cells that may have spread beyond the breast and could seed a new cancer later. Almost 70 percent of the patients in the study scored in the mid-range of the test and were considered a moderate risk for a relapse. According to their findings, the test Oncotype DX, which has been used for one decade now, works well for a small group of patients and it was able to identify patients who do not need the weakening treatment.
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Using the Oncotype DX test, the researchers found that 16% of the study participants were at low risk for breast cancer recurrence (a score of 10 or less), 67% were at intermediate risk (a score of 11-25), while 17% were at high risk for recurrence (a score of 26 or higher).
This finding was published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Pregnant women should not delay cancer treatment for it does not harm the fetus, a new study has found. Cancer treatment was previously delayed until the baby is born, a few were advised to deliver preterm or have an abortion.
The researchers said that women who are diagnosed with cancer while pregnant should not delay their treatment.
The use of hormone therapy and chemotherapy (systemic therapy) in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Poland, varied substantially depending on the stage of the breast cancer.
“It’s important that the test was validated, but also how low the risk of recurrence actually was for this subset of patients”, she says.
An additional analysis from the prospective Plan B trial, Europe’s largest contemporary adjuvant breast cancer trial, conducted by the Women’s Healthcare Study Group in Germany, showed a high level of discordance in tumor grade assessment as performed by central and local pathologists. Second primary cancers exceeded recurrences of the original breast cancer, resulting in 93.8 percent five year disease free survival, the primary trial endpoint.
Cancer patient Caroline Whitley (L) smiles as nurse Colleen Kritz checks her breathing during chemotherapy treatment at the Cape Fear Valley Cancer Center August 4, 2010 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The clinical trial gathered more than 10,000 women inflicted with a certain type of breast cancer called estrogen-receptor-positive that had not spread to lymph nodes. Those who do not require chemotherapy are not negatively affected by forgoing chemotherapy.
“Compared to the control group of children, we found no significant differences in mental development among children exposed to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery alone or no treatment”.
Others besides Oncotype are on the market and that’s considered good news as well.
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Dr. Mertens said that most patients are trusting in doctors and this research, and do believe that in this case, more isn’t always the best option.
