(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A genetic signature may help predict which
breast cancer patients are resistant to chemotherapy drugs, something that
may guide treatment choices.
The genes were discovered by a group at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
who examined breast tumor specimens from 85 patients. The genetic signature
occurred in about one in five samples and were linked to poorer treatment
outcomes.
Breast cancers with the genes are resistant to the anthracycline class of
drugs, but may still be vulnerable to other types of chemotherapies,
researchers say. This new information could lead to the development of a
genetic test of breast cancers to help doctors decide the best treatment for
each individual.
With the exception of a few patients, "No tests are done before treatment
begins to predict who's going to be resistant or sensitive to different
compounds," Andrea Richardson, M.D., Ph.D., study investigator and also a
faculty member of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., was quoted
as saying. "Most breast cancer patients are initially given the same drugs."
Source: Nature Medicine, published online January 24, 2010
