From the AP via Yahoo:

Most breast cancer cases that haven't spread to lymph nodes will not recur after surgery, but doctors have no good ways to predict which ones will. They guess, based on the size of a tumor and the woman's age, but they know that they are giving many women chemotherapy who don't need it.

The new test, made by California-based Genomic Health, measures the activity of 21 genes to classify women as high, low or medium risk for recurrence.

Previous studies have established the test's ability to predict this. With this latest study, doctors extended those findings to show that chemotherapy helps high-risk women a lot and low-risk ones not at all.

Good news. But how will the insurance companies react?

The test is expensive — $3,460 — but so is chemotherapy, which costs $37,000 or more depending on the drugs and length of time it is given.

Most insurers do not cover the test yet, though Norton and others expect they will, now that information on its effectiveness has been published. Some fear, however, that insurers will use it to deny patients coverage for chemotherapy if the test shows they are unlikely to benefit.

My mother had breast cancer. She's a six-year survivor. She underwent a lumpectomy. She had Tamoxophen, because tests indicated that it was a kind of cancer that would respond to it. Knowing how it was a targeted treatment helped her cope with the side effects. Before that, she had chemo -- just because overall statistics showed that it helped prevent recurrence. That was not pleasant, even as localized as it was. This new test can not only help people avoid fruitless treatment but also help them know that the treatment they are undergoing is making a real difference. I feel that keeping that mindset positive, and feeling like there is power over that cancer, helps the patient's chances, too.

It's a horrible disease. This is one step closer to understanding how it works, and I applaud that. (Who wouldn't?)

-media girl

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