Maha Christopher
Millions of breast cancer patients worldwide could safely avoid chemotherapy following the development of a DNA based test that helps identify those unlikely to benefit from the treatment, researchers have said.
According to BBC, the findings emerged from an international study led by University College London involving more than 4,000 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients aged over 40 across the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand.
Researchers used a gene test known as Prosigna to analyse the activity of 50 genes linked to breast cancer growth and determine the likelihood of the disease returning after treatment.
The study found that more than two thirds of participants recorded low risk scores and were treated with hormone therapy alone rather than chemotherapy.
Results showed a five year survival rate of 93.7 per cent among patients who did not receive chemotherapy, compared with 94.9 per cent among those who underwent the treatment.
The findings suggest that many patients with early stage breast cancer may not require chemotherapy, sparing them the often severe side effects associated with the treatment, including fatigue, nausea, hair loss, weakened immunity, and fertility problems.
University College London said the breakthrough could enable more than 5,000 National Health Service patients in the UK each year to avoid unnecessary chemotherapy.
Professor David Miles, a leading cancer specialist involved in the study, described the findings as “practice changing.”
“We can now confidently predict many patients will get no benefit at all, and therefore there’s no need for them to have the chemotherapy,” he said.
“We used to give chemotherapy to 100 women to benefit 10, knowing that 90 didn’t need it.”
One participant in the trial, 64 year old Karen Bonham from Cardiff, said avoiding chemotherapy was a huge relief after her cancer diagnosis.
The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, one of the world’s largest cancer conferences.
Researchers noted that it remains unclear whether the results apply to breast cancer patients under the age of 40, with further studies still ongoing.
