Study: Half of Women With Early-stage Breast Cancer Don’t Need Chemotherapy : voanews

As it stated in voanews

Study: Half of Women With Early-stage Breast Cancer Don't Need Chemotherapy

Study: Half of Women With Early-stage Breast Cancer Don't Need Chemotherapy

A new study has found that women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer don't always need chemotherapy.Even though chemotherapy drugs have harsh side effects, many women with small or early-stage tumors receive treatment after surgery because doctors think there is a high risk the cancer will return and spread.But based on the findings of a multi-center European study, researchers have concluded that 46 percent of women thought to have early high-risk tumors did not need drug treatment.They studied a test called MammaPrint, which analyzes the genetics of the tumor, telling doctors which women are good candidates for chemotherapy.


by the same token on ibtimes

Gene Tests May Allow Some Women In Early Stages Of Cancer To Skip Chemotherapy

Gene Tests May Allow Some Women In Early Stages Of Cancer To Skip Chemotherapy

It may now be possible for some women suffering from the early stages of breast cancer to skip chemotherapy by assessing the gene activity in tumors , a new study has shown.Published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that almost half of women with early-stage breast cancer who would receive chemo under regular circumstances can avoid the treatment by taking the "genomic test." The test measures the activity of genes that control the growth of cancer.The research also showed little risk of the cancer coming back over the next five years.Catching the cancer early is important for the treatment to be effective, because of which "when in doubt we tend to treat" women with early-stage breast cancer, the study's lead author Dr. Fatima Cardoso , a breast cancer specialist at the Champalimaud Clinical Center in Lisbon, Portugal, told NPR.


as well mskcc

Can Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer Safely Avoid Chemotherapy?

Can Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer Safely Avoid Chemotherapy?

Summary Women with early-stage breast cancer now have several options for genomic tests that can estimate risk of recurrence and help determine whether they will benefit from chemotherapy after surgery.A new study published today evaluates a test called MammaPrint.Highlights Women with early-stage breast cancer may benefit from genomic testing to determine risk of cancer recurrence following surgery.Those women with a low risk of cancer recurrence may not need adjuvant chemotherapy.