Article Details - Overview
Molecular Profiling:Improving Precision in Adjuvant Therapy Decisions for Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Summary of a Lecture From a Satellite Symposium Held in Conjunction With The 25th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference; Orlando, FL; February 20-23, 2008
Release Date: June 4, 2008
Expiration Date: June 4, 2009
Publication Overview
Author
PER Editorial Staff
Purpose
For patients with early-stage breast cancer, accurate determination of recurrence risk is an essential component of decision making regarding the nature of adjuvant treatment and the necessity of chemotherapy. Traditional prognostic criteria, including tumor size and grade, nodal status, and hormone receptor expression, are currently used to estimate risk and make adjuvant therapy decisions and can unfortunately lead to overtreatment or undertreatment due to inaccuracy.This suggests that the development of novel prognostic tools with better ability to predict risk and chemotherapy benefit is needed. Molecular profiling, particularly multigene assays, has demonstrated significant utility in classifying patients with early-stage breast cancer based on the underlying tumor biology into groups that correlate with recurrence risk. Another goal of these assays is prediction of benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, allowing better individualization of therapy. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating the prognostic and predictive power of these diagnostic tools and are comparing them to standard methods of prognosis currently used in the clinical setting.
Overview and Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to update physicians on the latest information regarding the use of multigene assays to predict recurrence risk and therapy benefit in patients with early-stage breast cancer.
Target Audience
This activity is intended for medical oncologists involved in the care of patients with breast cancer. No specific skills or knowledge other than a basic training in oncology is required for successful participation in this activity.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this educational activity, you should be able to:
- Compare multigene expression–based assays to traditional clinicopathologic criteria for prognostication and prediction of therapy benefit in breast cancer
- Describe the key clinical data regarding reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction–based assays for determining recurrence risk and potential benefit from chemotherapy in patients with hormone receptor–positive early-stage breast cancer
- Review data regarding the prognostic utility of microarray-based assays in patients with untreated early-stage breast cancer
Instructions for Participation
- Read the following information before entering the educational activity.
- Study the educational activity.
- Complete the CME test.
- Answer the evaluation questions.
- After successful completion of the CME test and evaluation, you will receive your certificate of credit online.
- CME credit will be granted for only 1 form of participation, either online or via the printed publication.
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