Source: BBC Health; The Lancet Oncology
It is a fact of chemotherapy (chemical treatment for cancer) that some patients simply don’t respond to medications. Or that they stop responding over time. With more than 45,400 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, scientists have been furiously trying to decode our genetic patterns for reasons such as this.
Starting with 829 genes present in breast cancer cells, the focus has been drawn to just 6 genes which appear to impact the efficacy (medical effectiveness) of chemotherapy. If they are correct then it may be possible to develop a simple test to determine whether or not certain drugs, in this case paclitaxel, will be beneficial to patients. Another one to watch.
~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire