New Breast Cancer Tests May Change Treatment Plans

September 13th, 2016

Many of us may have a loved one or someone we know who has been diagnosed with breast cancer—one of the most common cancers in women. Understanding how aggressive a cancer is helps a physician select the right kind of treatment.  However, different sections of a single tumor can be more or less aggressive than others, so results may sometimes lead a physician to underestimate the cancer’s risk. In order to ensure that doctors have the important information they need to determine the best treatment plan for each patient, researchers are studying new tumor sampling techniques. These newly developed “personalized medicine” gene expression profile tests may help to ensure that doctors are recommending treatment plans that are based on the most aggressive parts of the tumor. Read more here: http://www.upmc.com/media/NewsReleases/2016/Pages/lee-tumorhetero-gep-cancerresearch.aspx.