New Gene Test Sorts Lung Cancer Patients
A new gene test may sort lung cancer patients for possible surgery or chemotherapy.
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More than 200,000 Americans were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011, and when a diagnosis is made, often the question becomes whether to treat the cancer with potentially dangerous chemotherapy or opt for surgery to remove the affected tissue.
In about 50% of patients, the cancer will return, in which case chemotherapy might have been the better option. In the other half, surgery would have been the best treatment, with exposure to chemotherapy of less definitive benefit to patients, if at all. The question puzzled doctors, as being able to discern which patients fell into which category after a lung cancer diagnosis would provide a much better base of knowledge for determining a course of treatment.
Dr. Edward Kim is chief of head and neck medical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and he explained to ABC in an email:
However, a new study was published today in the medical journal Lancet, indicating that a new gene test may be able to predict which of the patients will be predisposed to remission, making them better candidates for chemotherapy rather than surgical treatment. Of the initial research, ABC notes:
Would you rely on the results of gene testing to dictate treatment in the event of a lung cancer diagnosis?
Copyright: arcticle: Elsevier Limited
Original article from: http://www.inquisitr.com/187400/lung-cancer-cases-could-be-genetically-sorted-with-new-test/
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A new gene test may sort lung cancer patients for possible surgery or chemotherapy.
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
More than 200,000 Americans were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011, and when a diagnosis is made, often the question becomes whether to treat the cancer with potentially dangerous chemotherapy or opt for surgery to remove the affected tissue.
In about 50% of patients, the cancer will return, in which case chemotherapy might have been the better option. In the other half, surgery would have been the best treatment, with exposure to chemotherapy of less definitive benefit to patients, if at all. The question puzzled doctors, as being able to discern which patients fell into which category after a lung cancer diagnosis would provide a much better base of knowledge for determining a course of treatment.
Dr. Edward Kim is chief of head and neck medical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and he explained to ABC in an email:
“Patients with this early stage of lung cancer pose a real dilemma for clinicians… The current literature is less than definitive when deciding between the benefit of the chemotherapy against the risk of chemotherapy side effects for the patient.”
However, a new study was published today in the medical journal Lancet, indicating that a new gene test may be able to predict which of the patients will be predisposed to remission, making them better candidates for chemotherapy rather than surgical treatment. Of the initial research, ABC notes:
Not only were [researchers] able to predict which patients had a return of their lung cancer, they found that this genetic test outperformed traditional methods used to predict the return of this cancer, opening the door to the possibility that the test will make it possible to decide who should get chemotherapy and who should not.
Would you rely on the results of gene testing to dictate treatment in the event of a lung cancer diagnosis?
Copyright: arcticle: Elsevier Limited
Original article from: http://www.inquisitr.com/187400/lung-cancer-cases-could-be-genetically-sorted-with-new-test/
Forward this news message:
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