Study shows value of breast cancer genetic test
Some New York women who are diagnosed with breast cancer may wonder whether they should make a decision about treatment based on whether they took a traditional test or a genetic test. In some cases, the traditional test might show that the risk of the cancer advancing is high while a genetic test might show that the risk is low. According to a study published on Aug. 24, the survival rate for women whose test results differ in this way are similar whether or not the women choose chemotherapy.The chance of survival after five years without metastasis for women whose genetic tests showed a low risk and who went through chemotherapy was 1.9 percentage points higher. However, this also means that around 35,000 women annually may go through unnecessary chemotherapy [...]