Breast cancer This new method could save thousands of women chemotherapy

Genetic test shows when chemotherapy in breast cancer patients is unnecessary

When breast cancer is diagnosed in women, it is often followed by stressful chemotherapy. But this treatment is unnecessary for many patients. A new study has now shown that genetic tests can show in advance which women benefit from such a therapy - and which not.

Most common cancer in women

Breast cancer, also called breast cancer, is the most common malignant tumor in women. In Germany alone, up to 70,000 new cases are counted each year. Many patients have to undergo chemotherapy with adverse side effects. But for a long time, health experts have pointed out that breast cancer does not always make sense. German experts recently reported on new genetic tests that should eliminate unnecessary chemotherapy for breast cancer. However, not all experts are convinced of their benefits. However, studies in the US have shown that such tests can actually help to save chemo for many cancer patients.

A new study from the USA showed that genetic tests can already show in advance which breast cancer patients benefit from chemotherapy. (Image: WavebreakMediaMicro / fotolia.com)

Many breast cancer patients can be spared chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is usually associated with severe side effects such as hair loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.

However, if the cancer is detected at an early stage, it can often be dispensed with the debilitating treatment.

This is also shown by a new study from the USA. As a result, women with early-stage breast cancer who are currently receiving chemotherapy to current standards do not need this treatment.

"We can save thousands and thousands of women from getting toxic treatment that they really would not use," said study author Dr. Ingrid A. Mayer of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center opposite The New York Times (NYT).

The results of the study were presented in early June at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, USA, and published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

Hormone blocking drug

According to the NYT, the study found that genetic tests on tumor specimens were able to identify women who could safely skip chemotherapy and only take a drug that blocks the estrogen hormone or prevents the body from producing it.

According to the experts, the hormone blocking drug tamoxifen and related medicines have become an essential part of treatment for most women because they reduce the risk of recurrence of new breast tumors and death from the disease.

"I think that's a very significant step forward," Dr. Larry Norton from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He himself is not the author of the study, but the hospital where he works was involved in the investigation.

"I will be able to look people in the eye and say," We analyzed their tumor, they have a really good prognosis and they do not really need chemo. "" That's good if you can tell someone. "

"The results show that we are now able to save them in about 70 percent of patients who are potential candidates for chemo because of clinical features," said study leader Dr. med. Joseph A. Sparano from the Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

However, Dr. Sparano and Dr. Mayer added a warning: The data also showed that some women 50 years or younger could benefit from chemotherapy, although the results of genetic testing suggest otherwise.

Although it is not clear why that is so, but these women need a particularly careful advice.

Moreover, despite all the risks that chemotherapy can bring, it should not be forgotten that in many cases such treatment can save lives. (Ad)