THE BREAST CANCER REVOLUTION
Breakthrough means 5,000 British women a year will be spared chemo ‘Biggest advance in a generation’ to save the NHS millions from today
UP to 5,000 patients a year will be spared chemotherapy thanks to a breakthrough in breast cancer research.
Hailed as the biggest advance in a generation, it found the gruelling drugs can be avoided for 70% with the most common form of the disease, starting today. It will save the NHS millions. Consultant Dr Alistair Ring said: “This is a huge deal.”
On Monday in the clinic I will offer less chemo that won’t be of benefit DR ALISTAIR RING ON IMPACT OF THE STUDY
EXPERTS have hailed a landmark study which could spare up to 5,000 breast cancer patients each year from needless chemo.
The research, involving a genetic test available on the NHS, revealed the painful treatment helps less than a third of women with the most common form of early-stage breast cancer following surgery.
It is set to save the NHS millions and one doctor said patients would start benefiting from today.
Specialist Dr Alistair Ring, of Royal Marsden Hospital, London, said it was the biggest development for 20 years and a “step change”.
He said: “Chemotherapy will drop. As an oncologist on Monday in the clinic I will offer less chemotherapy that will not be of benefit.” Charities also welcomed the news. Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “We hope these practice-changing findings will now help refine our use of chemotherapy on the NHS.”
Rachel Rawson, of Breast Cancer Care, added: “This life-changing breakthrough is wonderful news and could liberate thousands of women from the agony of chemotherapy.”
The TAILORx trial was unveiled at the American Association of Clinical Oncologists in Chicago – the world’s biggest cancer conference.
SCORES
Researchers enrolled 10,273 US women with HR+HER2-AN- breast cancer, which accounts for 23,000 of the 55,000 diagnoses in the UK each year. Patients were randomly assigned chemo or alternative treatment and followed for up to nine years.
They had also been scored with the Oncotype DX genetic test, which assesses how likely cancer is to return. Those at the low end – with a recurrence score of up to 10 out of 100 – have been shown not to benefit from chemo and those with a score above 26 do benefit. Until now, it was unclear if the 70% of patients in the middle would be helped or not.
The study found over-50s scoring up to 25 did not need chemo, nor did under-50s with a score up to 15.
Instead they could be treated by standard drugs like Tamoxifen.
It means between 3,000 and 5,000 women diagnosed in the UK every year will avoid side effects such as hair loss and severe vomiting.
The test costs £2,500, while chemo typically costs £4,500 per patient.
Lead author Dr Joseph Sparano, of Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said: “Any woman with early stage breast cancer, 75 or younger, should have the test and discuss the results of TAILORx with her doctor.”