New breast cancer test could spare thousands chemo

Based on the tumour assessment, clinicians can currently determine whether about 25,000 should or should not also receive chemotherapy, stated Professor Mitch Dowsett, from the Institute for Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden Hospital.

However, they are not able to make a clear decision for the remaining 12,000, who tend to receive chemotherapy to be on the safe side.

These are the women who could benefit from the new IHC4 test, he said, so named because it looks at levels of four proteins of importance for ER+ breast cancer: oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PGR), HER2 receptor (HER2) and a measure of how fast the tumour is growing, called Ki67.

Prof Dowsett explained: “I think it will help about 8,000 women a year make a much more certain decision about their treatment.

“It will grant us to state about a third of the 12,000 probably do need chemo and about a third probably don’t.”

While effective at preventing recurrence, chemotherapy has a deserved reputation as an unpleasant medicine, causing a range of side-effects including lethargy, increased risk of infection and blood clots, and hair loss.

Prof Dowsett described the IHC4 test as “excellent news” for women with ER+ breast cancer.

He said: “It is a major step towards more personalised and targeted treatment of breast cancer, which will mean that women can avoid unnecessary chemotherapy and its toxic side effects.”

While the Oncotype test was a “valuable” approach, it costs about £1,600 ($2,500) a time.

“Most cancer specialists do not have the money available to use it,” he said.

By comparison, he predicted the IHC4 test would cost the NHS between £100 and £200 a time.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which decides whether new drugs and technologies can be used by the NHS, is due to meet next month to discuss the test.

The hope is that they will approve it, both as it will improve patients’ quality of life and reduce chemotherapy costs.

Prof Dowsett has published the findings of the study, supported by the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Prof Jack Cuzick, from Queen Mary, University of London, who co-authored the paper, stated IHC4 “has the potential to be a key component in the battle against breast cancer”.

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Submited at Thursday, October 20th, 2011 at 5:00 am on Health by chuck
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