New cheaper test should reduce unnecessary chemotherapy

Summary of the story from The Telegraph, October 19, 2011

A new test developed by British scientists and using technology already available in almost all NHS laboratories, can predict whether or not breast cancer will return after surgery.

This will give thousands of women a chance to opt out of unnecessary chemotherapy.

The estimated cost of the test is around £200 and could help about 8,000 women a year to make a better decision about chemo options after surgery.

The new test, which could be available in as little as a year, should cost a tenth of the sole alternative, called Oncotype DX, which is only available in the US.

When women are diagnosed, the physical state of the cancer is assessed, their tumors are removed surgically and they are treated with hormone therapy to fight any residual cancer and reduce the chances of it recurring.

Based on the tumor assessment, clinicians can currently determine whether about 25,000 patients should or should not also receive chemotherapy.

However, they are not able to make a clear decision for about 12,000, who tend to receive chemotherapy to be on the safe side – and these are the women who could benefit from the new test, called IHC4.

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.

Professor Mitch Dowsett, from the Institute for Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden Hospital, described the IHC4 test as “excellent news”.