Millions of breast cancer patients could safely avoid chemotherapy, study suggests
Summary
A new international study shows that many breast cancer patients can skip chemotherapy safely by using a DNA test called Prosigna. The test helps doctors find out which patients will benefit from chemotherapy and which can be treated just with hormone therapy, reducing side effects for most patients.Key Facts
- The study involved over 4,000 breast cancer patients older than 40 from six countries.
- Prosigna is a gene test that looks at 50 genes linked to breast cancer growth to predict the risk of cancer returning.
- About two-thirds of patients got a low-risk score and avoided chemotherapy, using hormone therapy alone.
- The five-year survival rate was 93.7% for those who skipped chemotherapy, close to 94.9% for those who had it.
- Chemotherapy can cause side effects like fatigue, nausea, hair loss, weak immune system, and fertility problems.
- The study was led by University College London (UCL) and will be presented at a major cancer conference in the US.
- More than 5,000 NHS breast cancer patients in the UK could avoid chemotherapy yearly thanks to these findings.
- It is not yet known if the test works as well for patients under 40 years old.
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