The results of the
Oncotype
DX®
test are provided as a Recurrence Score® result, a number between 0 and 100. This number corresponds to a specific likelihood that a woman's breast
cancer
will spread to another area of her body within 10 years of her initial
diagnosis. The lower the score is, the lower the chances are that a woman's breast cancer will come back, and the higher the score, the greater the chances that breast cancer will come back.
In addition, the
Oncotype
DX
test provides information about a woman's likelihood of benefiting from commonly used regimens of chemotherapy. Patients with low Recurrence Score results are likely to receive little if any benefit from chemotherapy. Patients with high Recurrence Score results are more likely to receive a significant benefit from
chemotherapy. This information, together with other information about the chance a woman's
cancer
will return, can help a woman and her doctor make a decision about the treatment that is best for her individual cancer.
The information provided by the Oncotype
DX test can help increase doctors' and patients' confidence in and satisfaction with their treatment decisions, as shown in recent studies.
Multi-Center Study Of Oncologist And Patient Decision Making
Physician Impact
-
About one-third of physicians changed their treatment recommendation after receiving the Recurrence Score result
-
The Recurrence Score result increased physicians' confidence in their treatment recommendation
1
Patient Impact
-
About one-third of patients changed their choice of treatment based on their Recurrence Score result
-
Patients reported significantly lower conflict about their treatment decision and greater satisfaction with that decision
-
Patients' anxiety levels decreased after they learned their Recurrence Score result
-
The majority of patients felt that their Recurrence Score result influenced their treatment decision and were glad they took the test
1
Journal Of Oncology Practice Study
-
For about one-fourth of patients, knowledge of the Recurrence Score result changed physicians' treatment recommendations and eventual treatment
-
The decision to change from hormone therapy to chemotherapy (with or without hormone therapy) was generally associated with a high Recurrence Score result, while the decision to change from chemotherapy to hormone therapy was generally associated with a low Recurrence Score result
2
Additional Studies
-
Chemotherapy was usually not given to patients with low Recurrence Score results, and was generally given to patients with high Recurrence Score results
3
-
The overall use of chemotherapy in the patient population studied declined by more than 50% after the use of Oncotype
DX began
3
-
Patients with low Recurrence Score results were generally treated with hormone therapy alone and rarely received chemotherapy
4
References:
-
Lo SS, Norton J, Mumby PB, et al. Prospective multi-center study of the impact of the 21-gene Recurrence Score (RS) assay on medical oncologist (MO) and patient (pt) adjuvant breast cancer (BC) treatment selection. Presented at the Forty-third Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. June 1-5, 2007; Chicago, IL. Abstract #577.
-
Oratz R, Paul D, Cohn AL, et al. Impact of a commercial reference laboratory Recurrence Score on decision making in early-stage breast cancer. J Onc Pract. 2007;3(4):182-6.
-
Erb C, Fox KR, Patel M, et al. Evaluation of practice patterns in the treatment of node-negative, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer patients with the use of the Oncotype
DX assay at the University of Pennsylvania. Presented at the 30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 13-16, 2007; San Antonio, TX. Abstract #3082.
-
Liang H, Brufsky AM, Lembersky BC, et al. A retrospective analysis of the impact of Oncotype
DX low Recurrence Score results on treatment decisions in a single academic breast cancer center. Presented at the 30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 13-16, 2007; San Antonio, TX. Abstract #2061.