A New Oncological Test Will Free Women with Breast Cancer from Chemotherapy

The results of a new study published in the latest issue of the prestigious medical journal New England Journal have encouraged hundreds of thousands of women with breast cancer worldwide. From now on, thanks to an innovative oncological test, patients with early-stage breast cancer will be able to avoid toxic chemotherapy.

The experiment conducted by scientists showed that two-thirds of women diagnosed with breast cancer at stage I – II do not require chemotherapy after surgical removal of the malignant tumor. By using the Oncotype DX oncological test, developed by Israeli scientists, doctors identify patients with a low risk of recurrence, for whom chemotherapy drugs are not needed.

As part of the clinical trial, 10,000 women with early-stage breast cancer were examined, whose tumors had not metastasized to regional lymph nodes and distant organs. It turned out that nearly 70% of them had non-aggressive tumors, making the inclusion of chemotherapy in the treatment regimen for such patients impractical. The oncological test showed that these women did not exhibit increased expression of the HER2 gene, which is involved in the growth of cancer cells and indicates a high risk of recurrence. It also established that such tumors respond well to hormonal therapy.

Effective Treatment Without Chemotherapy

The subjects underwent the Oncotype DX test using new reagents from the Israeli company Oncotest Teva. This involves studying a sample of tissue from the removed breast tumor, during which scientists, by checking the activity of 21 genes, determine its aggressiveness level, and based on the obtained data, assess the risk of breast cancer recurrence over the next ten years for a specific woman. The experiment revealed that about 70% of women with a low risk of recurrence can avoid chemotherapy, replacing it with gentler methods. Patients with medium and high risk of cancer recurrence require treatment with hormonal and chemotherapy drugs.
According to Dr. Larry Norton from the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, this study represents a true scientific breakthrough. Now, in the United States alone, over 100,000 women with breast cancer will be spared the need for chemotherapy. "We have long noticed that patients with low and medium recurrence probability do not achieve the necessary results with chemotherapy drugs," says Tamar Safra, head of the gynecological oncology department at the Ichilov clinic in Israel. "And the new clinical trials of the test have scientifically confirmed our observations."

How to Timely Suspect Breast Cancer

Breast cancer remains one of the most common oncological diseases, accounting for about one-third of all diagnosed malignant tumors. Each year, approximately one and a half million new cases of breast cancer are registered worldwide, a third of which result in death. Until recently, chemotherapy was an integral part of the treatment for all patients with malignant breast tumors, causing unpleasant side effects such as hair loss, dysfunction of the digestive system, decreased platelet levels in the blood, which can lead to bleeding disorders, etc.
Not every breast tumor is malignant – among them, benign cysts, fibroadenomas, and other less dangerous tumors are quite common. However, this does not mean that any detected lump can be ignored; any changes in the breast should prompt a visit to a mammologist, who will conduct the necessary examinations. Early detection of cancer significantly increases the chances of complete recovery.
Symptoms that should raise concern include: a lump in the breast tissue, changes in size and/or shape, enlarged veins, dimples or bulges on the skin, severe persistent itching, bloody or watery discharge from the nipple, rashes in the area of the nipple-areolar complex, and others.