How likely is it that an individual colon cancer will return?

Stage II colon cancer patients have a tough time knowing how likely it is that their cancer will recur and making a decision about having chemotherapy after surgery.

A test is now on the market that can help with that decision.  OncoType DX® Colon Assay analyzes 12 key genes from a tumor sample to produce a recurrence score that indicates how likely stage II colon cancer will return.

While OncoType DX Colon can’t predict whether chemotherapy will reduce the chance that cancer will come back, it can help patients and their doctors decide on chemotherapy in combination with other factors.

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The first genomic test to predict whether or not stage II colon cancer will recur has been developed and validated in a large number of tumor tissue samples from patients in the United States and the United Kingdom.  The 12 gene assay can reliably predict whether an individual patient has a low, intermediate, or high risk of having their cancer return.

Doctors and patients will be able to use the Recurrence Score, along with other clinical indicators, to decide whether further chemotherapy treatment after surgery should be considered or whether they can safely skip chemo and its risks.

However, the study was not able to link recurrence scores with benefits from 5-FU and leucovorin chemotherapy. Read the rest of this entry »