Two-Thirds of Breast Cancer Patients Could Avoid Chemotherapy, Study Finds

A groundbreaking study suggests that a significant majority of breast cancer patients could avoid chemotherapy without compromising their survival rates. Researchers have developed a DNA test that accurately distinguishes between patients who will benefit from chemotherapy and those who will not, potentially saving two-thirds of patients from the treatment's harsh side effects.

The research, led by University College London (UCL) and involving over 4,000 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients aged 40 and above across the UK, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, utilized a test called Prosigna. This test measures the activity of 50 genes known to influence cancer spread and calculates the risk of the disease returning.

In the study, patients with low-risk scores, representing two-thirds of the participants, did not receive chemotherapy. Their five-year survival rate was an impressive 93.7%. In comparison, the group that did receive chemotherapy had a slightly higher five-year survival rate of 94.9%. This marginal difference indicates that for the low-risk group, chemotherapy provided little additional survival benefit.

Chemotherapy, often administered after surgery to remove tumors, aims to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. However, it comes with debilitating side effects such as fatigue, nausea, hair loss, and a weakened immune system. UCL researchers are concerned that for the most common form of breast cancer, these side effects may not be justified by the limited therapeutic gain in many patients. Based on these findings, it is estimated that over 5,000 patients in the UK's National Health Service could potentially avoid chemotherapy annually.

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Two-thirds of patients could have chemotherapy side effects saved.