| Are there prognostic indicators in Breast Cancer? |
The most useful clinical prognostic indicators that help determine a treatment plan for women with breast cancer are tumor size, lymph node status, presence of lympho-vascular involvement, nuclear grade, architectural grade, mitotic index, ER/PR status, and HER2/nue status. The OncotypeDx is a 21 gene array analysis of an individual’s breast cancer. It has been validated in retrospective studies done on patients who participated in the NSABP-b14 and b-20 clinical trials. This genomic test is the first of its kind and will predict the benefit of endocrine therapy and chemotherapy for a woman with breast cancer. This test has the ability to help physicians determine which patients would benefit from chemotherapy based on the individual’s breast cancer genomic make up. In the near future, this type of test will replace prognostic indicators in determining treatment options.
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