A simple genetic test can identify breast cancer patients who will actually benefit from chemotherapy, making the toxic side effects worthwhile.īut learning more about breast cancer has also given experts new tools to fight other cancers.Ī study presented at the Barcelona meeting Tuesday found an unexpected twist : patients with a certain overactive breast cancer gene were also less likely to respond to chemotherapy for lung cancer. Doctors have been deciding how to treat women with breast cancer depending on their tumor type for the last few years. Tailoring treatment based on patients genes is being used now on a limited basis. Piccart and colleagues have been working to confirm the genetic sequences for women susceptible to breast cancer. We need to be able to offer patients an effective treatment. It s never encouraging to say to a patient that she s going to do poorly because of her genes, Piccart said. The real test, however, will be if doctors can then figure out what to do next. In a few years, we will be able to fully demonstrate how powerful these new technologies are.

Martine Piccart, head of medicine at the Institut Jules Bordet in Belgium. We are going to witness a revolution in cancer treatment, said Dr. In research presented at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona, experts said this week that these clues will help doctors determine not only which patients will probably develop cancer, but even those who will relapse, or be suitable for specific treatments. With an increasing number of biological clues available, doctors hope they will be able to customize more patients treatments based on their genetic profiles. (BARCELONA, Spain) The treatment that more cancer patients receive may one day depend on their genes.

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