<p><span>Worldwide, about two million breast cancer patients are diagnosed every year, and India accounts for about 1,50,000 patients per year out of it. Breast cancer has four stages: stage 1 and 2 are called as ‘early stage’, currently accounting for about 50% of the total in India. For an early-stage breast cancer patient, the cancer is contained and has not spread to other areas. In most cases, the primary tumour is removed surgically. Post-surgery, doctors create a treatment plan based on the risk of recurrence. Post-operative chemotherapy is recommended only for those patients who have a ‘high risk’ of cancer recurrence.</span></p>.<p><span>Studies have shown that the rate of recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients is low. This indicates that a vast majority of these patients receive little to no benefit from the addition of chemotherapy to their treatment regimen. Thus, a majority of patients treated with chemotherapy have to bear the toxic effects of the treatment which reduces the quality of </span><span>life,</span><span> and can be a monetary drain for the patient.</span></p>.<p><span>However, there is minimal awareness about the tests that can accurately predict the recurrence of cancer. Tests which predict ‘risk of recurrence’ exist in the West and have helped many early-stage patients in deciding the optimal course of therapy. However, these tests are prohibitively expensive for Asian patients and are not well-validated on patients from Southeast Asia.</span></p>.<p><span>Affordable tests that are well-validated on Indian patients is a growing medical need. To address this need, scientists in India are developing innovative multi-marker prognostic tests to </span><span>personalise</span><span> treatments for breast cancer patients. Patients classified as ‘high-risk’ would have a greater probability of cancer recurring than those classified as low-risk. This will help clinicians and the patients to understand the disease better and plan a suitable treatment. </span></p>.<p><em><span><span class="italic">(The author is CEO & founder, OncoStem Diagnostics)</span></span></em></p>
<p><span>Worldwide, about two million breast cancer patients are diagnosed every year, and India accounts for about 1,50,000 patients per year out of it. Breast cancer has four stages: stage 1 and 2 are called as ‘early stage’, currently accounting for about 50% of the total in India. For an early-stage breast cancer patient, the cancer is contained and has not spread to other areas. In most cases, the primary tumour is removed surgically. Post-surgery, doctors create a treatment plan based on the risk of recurrence. Post-operative chemotherapy is recommended only for those patients who have a ‘high risk’ of cancer recurrence.</span></p>.<p><span>Studies have shown that the rate of recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients is low. This indicates that a vast majority of these patients receive little to no benefit from the addition of chemotherapy to their treatment regimen. Thus, a majority of patients treated with chemotherapy have to bear the toxic effects of the treatment which reduces the quality of </span><span>life,</span><span> and can be a monetary drain for the patient.</span></p>.<p><span>However, there is minimal awareness about the tests that can accurately predict the recurrence of cancer. Tests which predict ‘risk of recurrence’ exist in the West and have helped many early-stage patients in deciding the optimal course of therapy. However, these tests are prohibitively expensive for Asian patients and are not well-validated on patients from Southeast Asia.</span></p>.<p><span>Affordable tests that are well-validated on Indian patients is a growing medical need. To address this need, scientists in India are developing innovative multi-marker prognostic tests to </span><span>personalise</span><span> treatments for breast cancer patients. Patients classified as ‘high-risk’ would have a greater probability of cancer recurring than those classified as low-risk. This will help clinicians and the patients to understand the disease better and plan a suitable treatment. </span></p>.<p><em><span><span class="italic">(The author is CEO & founder, OncoStem Diagnostics)</span></span></em></p>