Millions of people with breast cancer could safely avoid chemotherapy as scientists have developed a DNA test that can distinguish between patients who are likely to benefit from the treatment and those who are not, according to the results of a trial.<\/p>\n
The international study found that more than two-thirds of its participants could be spared the side of effects of chemotherapy and be treated with hormone therapy alone.<\/p>\n
Chemotherapy can cause fatigue, nausea, hair loss, a weakened immune system and fertility issues.<\/p>\n
The study, led by University College London (UCL), involved more than 4,000 newly diagnosed patients over the age of 40 in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.<\/p>\n
The university said researchers estimate more than 5,000 NHS patients a year could avoid chemotherapy thanks to the trial.<\/p>\n
Scientists used a gene test called Prosigna to measure the activity of 50 genes involved in breast cancer growth and calculate a patient’s risk of the disease returning.<\/p>\n
Those who received a low score – two-thirds of the group – were not treated through chemotherapy. The five-year survival rate of their group was 93.7%, compared with a 94.9% rate among patients who received chemotherapy as part of their care.<\/p>\n
The primary treatment for breast cancer is usually surgery to remove tumours. Chemotherapy is often recommended afterwards to diminish the risk of return.<\/p>\n
It is also regularly offered to people with early-stage breast cancer that has spread to the nearby lymph nodes.<\/p>\n
Clinicians are concerned the treatment provides little benefit to those with the most common type of breast cancer, UCL said.<\/p>\n
The university said more than 5,000 NHS patients a year could avoid chemotherapy as a result of the trial.<\/p>\n
Karen Bonham, from Cardiff, took part in the trial and said the results are an \u00ab\u00a0immense relief\u00a0\u00bb and feel \u00ab\u00a0like Christmas\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old avoided chemotherapy thanks to the Prosigna test and has instead received eight years of radiotherapy and hormone therapy.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Cancer diagnosis and treatment can be shocking,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It certainly propels you into a world of uncertainty. Life priorities realign – you simply want to survive.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The findings of the study will be presented at the world’s largest cancer conference, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, in Chicago, United States, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The trial’s chief investigator, and professor of breast oncology at the UCL Cancer Institute, Professor Rob Stein, said: \u00ab\u00a0These results mark an important and significant step toward more personalised treatment.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The trial has successfully used tumour biology to guide decisions rather than relying solely on traditional clinical features.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0For patients, this means many may be spared the physical and emotional burden of chemotherapy and its potential long-term side effects.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0For health systems, it represents a more efficient and evidence-based use of resources.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
It is not known whether the findings apply to people under the age of 40, with a result still several years away, according to UCL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Millions of people with breast cancer could safely avoid chemotherapy as scientists have developed a DNA test that can distinguish between patients who are likely to benefit from the treatment and those who are not, according to the results of a trial. The international study found that more than two-thirds of its participants could be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}