Prognostic Tests

In making decisions about adjuvant chemotherapy, biologic subtype has replaced nodal status and tumor size as parameters to consider, although subtype—and tests that define them—are still insufficient for the provision of optimal care, said Antonio C. Wolff, MD, Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.

The Breast Cancer Index (BCI), a polymerase chain reaction–based assay, can predict late recurrences in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients, according to results from the translational arm of the Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (TransATAC) trial population.

Patients classified as low risk by the EndoPredict panel had a significantly lower rate of distant metastasis after 5 and 10 years of follow-up compared with patients who did not meet the test’s criteria for low risk, according to Peter Dubsky, MD, of the Breast Health Center, Associate Professor of Sur­gery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.