Genomic Health says test guides cancer treatment
Reported December 13, 2007
LOS ANGELES, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Genomic Health Inc (GHDX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday its genetic test can help predict when chemotherapy is likely to benefit women with breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes.
Genomic Health’s Oncotype DX test measures the activity of several cancer-related genes to generate a “recurrence score” that can help assess a patient’s risk for recurrence and predict how well the patient will respond to chemotherapy.
Researchers ran the test on hundreds of tissue samples from a breast cancer trial that began in the late 1980s. The study also used survival data from the prior trial.
Results showed that the test could be an aid in deciding when to give chemotherapy to tamoxifen-treated, post-menopausal women with so-called estrogen receptor positive breast cancer that has invaded the lymph notes, researchers said in a presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Government insurance plans, as well as many private insurers, already cover the test for early-stage breast cancer patients.
Shares in Genomic Health were off 18 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $23.05 in midday Nasdaq trade. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
