Widely hailed as the next frontier in medical progress, the promise of personalized medicine thanks to advances in understanding the molecular basis of diseases such as cancer. Scientists can now develop therapies based on individual genetic profiles, as well as test them to assess how the patient responds to existing therapies.
Today, some women and their doctors with early stage ****** cancer can make treatment decisions with more information with the Oncotype DX ****** cancer test. The service provides quantitative information about the genes from a woman's individual tumor to generate a recurrence score between zero and 100, indicating whether she has more, moderate or less likely to return after cancer treatment. Is in danger.
Oncotype DX is intended for patients with node-negative, estrogen receptor-positive ****** cancers, which are treated with hormone therapy. ****** Half of the 230,000 patients diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States fall into this category and are often treated with chemotherapy, which is widespread with significant side effects. Is the treatment used. Clinical studies show that chemotherapy improves the patient's survival rate in only 4 out of 100 patients, although thousands of women choose this expensive and toxic treatment with limited information about whether they can answer it.
A recent study showed that women with high recurrence scores are more likely to benefit from chemotherapy, while women with lower scores are less likely to benefit. In addition, only 25% of women fall into the high-risk group, compared with 50% in the low-risk group, indicating that this general treatment is not appropriate for each patient.
Elizabeth Sloan of New York City was one of many ****** cancer patients who were unable to respond to chemotherapy. An active mother of two, Elizabeth is planning to have another child when she is diagnosed at the age of 40. She wanted to avoid chemotherapy with its disruptive, short-term side effects and severe long-term effects, but was sure it would not help her.
Working with Dr. Ruth Oratz, MD at NYU Medical Center, Elizabeth decided to take the Oncotype DX test, indicating that when her recurrence score was low, she might not benefit significantly from chemotherapy.
"****** Two women with cancer are not exactly the same. Oncotype DX provides information that goes beyond standard criteria such as age, tumor size, and tumor grade in determining the likelihood of recurrence of the disease," says Dr. Oratz. "Oncotype DX gave Elizabeth and me the confidence and peace of mind to choose the most appropriate treatment for her."
For Susan Bucken of Denver, Colorado, the Oncotype DX provided a different kind of peace of mind. Susan's recurring score indicates that she has a higher risk of recurrence of cancer and is likely to surprise her and her doctor from chemotherapy.
"Based on the other tests I did, my doctor said he did not recommend chemotherapy. I was shocked to find out my result, but I'm so glad I believed it. That test basically saved my life," Susan explained.
Elizabeth Sloan for information received from Oncotype DX. "Not all cancers are the same, so why treat everyone as toxic?" He \ he said. "It's so remarkable, in the end, that doctors can distinguish one person's cancer from another — I'm so grateful."
Oncotype DX is a simple test that can only be prescribed by a doctor. It is performed on a small amount of ****** tumor tissue removed during a standard lumpectomy, mastectomy, or biopsy, which means no additional procedures are required.
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