Breast Cancer Breakthrough: GenesisCare Launches West Australian-First Breast Cancer Biomarker Test
GenesisCare is announcing that for the first time, West Australian women with a common form of non-invasive breast cancer known as Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS)1 will have access to an innovative test to help predict outcomes and inform personalised treatment plans.
Almost 2,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Western Australia each year2 with DCIS, a common precursor to breast cancer, accounting for up to one in five cases.3 Patients with DCIS have cancerous cells lining the milk ducts of the breast, but have not yet spread into surrounding breast tissue.
Combining the latest innovations in molecular biology with artificial intelligence, DCISionRT®, developed by PreludeDx, is a precision medicine test for women diagnosed with DCIS who have undergone breast conserving surgery. The DCISionRT test assesses the 10-year risk of DCIS returning or progressing to local invasive breast cancer and predicts whether radiation therapy will be of additional benefit to surgery alone.
According to leading breast cancer surgeon, Professor Christobel Saunders: “Managing breast cancer and DCIS requires an individualised approach based on each woman’s unique risk factors. Different patients may require different treatment approaches.
“Historically, we have relied on clinical pathology, such as tumour grade and size, to determine treatment plans for patients with DCIS. However, research supports the role of DCISionRT in identifying those patients who could benefit from radiation therapy post-surgery.”
“Providing physicians and patients the opportunity to make more informed treatment decisions based on individual risk profiles is a gamechanger for breast cancer care in Australia,” said GenesisCare radiation oncologist, Dr Yvonne Zissiadis.
Patients with a low DCISionRT score are considered at low risk of their DCIS returning or progressing to potentially life-threatening invasive breast cancer. For these patients, surgery alone may be appropriate. However, women with elevated risk scores may benefit from receiving radiation therapy post-surgery.
Scarborough resident, Barbara, 62, was diagnosed with DCIS in June of this year after having her first mammogram.
“Following breast conserving surgery, I was advised to undergo radiation therapy while I awaited the results of the DCISionRT test. Four days before I was due to begin radiation therapy, the results revealed I didn’t need it at all, which I was delighted about!
“I am so grateful to GenesisCare for making this test available, as I felt comforted knowing I only needed to undergo treatments that were necessary to my individual case.”
“It is important that all women diagnosed with DCIS have access to this test, so they feel confident they are making the right treatment choice that will give them the best outcome,” said Barbara.
DCISionRT provides predictive molecular information from each patient’s tissue sample that allows doctors to identify patients with elevated risk scores who could benefit from radiation therapy. This personalised information also helps doctors identify patients who may not be candidates for radiation therapy, thereby helping them avoid unnecessary treatment.
While DCIS is not life-threatening, if not treated effectively, it may become invasive and spread to other parts of the breast or body.4 In Australia, women who are diagnosed with DCIS are, on average, 3.9 times more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than Australian women of a similar age who have not had DCIS.5
Among women whose DCIS was initially thought to have a low risk of recurrence or progression, 2 in 5 had their risk reclassified to an elevated stage when assessed using DCISionRT, revealing a potential need for radiation therapy post-surgery.6
“GenesisCare is delighted to be offering West-Australian women this latest evolution in personalised medicine for early-stage non-invasive breast cancer, which may lead to significant improvements treatment planning and patient outcomes,” said Dr Zissiadis.
GenesisCare will also partner with PreludeDx on a research program using global real-world evidence to further the clinical development of precision medicine tests for breast and other cancers.
“As part of this initiative, we have established the AUS-PREDICT registry to further evaluate DCISionRT’s impact on treatment decisions,” said Dr Zissiadis.
DCISionRT® is now available to women with DCIS in Australia. For more information on DCIS and DCISionRT click here.
References:
- Cancer Council WA. About breast cancer. 2020 [August 2021]; Available from: https://www.cancerwa.asn.au/resources/specific-cancers/breast-cancer/.
- Breast Cancer Network Australia. Types of breast cancer. 2021 [January 2021]; Available from: https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/what-is-breast-cancer/types-of-breast-cancer/#:~:text=Invasive%20ductal%20carcinoma%20(IDC)%20is,cancers%20are%20invasive%20ductal%20carcinomas.
- van Seijen, M., et al., Ductal carcinoma in situ: to treat or not to treat, that is the question. British Journal of Cancer, 2019. 121(4): p. 285-292.
