Medical researchers from France have used a new gene testing technique that may be applied to the treatment of women suffering from advanced stages of breast cancer. The testing process, involving the genetic makeup of women with late stage breast cancer, may eventually be used to create personalized treatment procedures for breast cancer.
While the preliminary results of the study has only resulted in a proof of concept, the researchers may have taken the first steps to realizing the development of tailor-made treatments for individual cases of the disease. The study was published in the online journal The Lancet Oncology.
"It is possible to deliver personalized medicine," said Dr. Fabrice Andre, a researcher from the Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif, France. "Until now, genetic testing has only analysed a limited number of genes to select which targeted drugs are suitable for individual patients and many treatment opportunities may be missed."
The study involved sequencing and analyzing the genomes of over 400 women with late stage breast cancer. While similar tests have been conducted in the past, earlier tests only looked at specific gene mutations often found in breast cancer patients. The recent test was more extensive, covering the entire genome of each individual in the test group.
"For the first time, we have shown that scanning the whole genome can identify both frequent and rare genomic alterations and can be done in clinical practice with large numbers of women," said Andre.
According to the researchers' findings, approximately half of the women in the group had certain genetic alterations that made them eligible for targeted treatment. Moreover, 43 women who were found to be eligible for targeted treatment were promptly given targeted therapy.
"Personalisation of medicine for metastatic breast cancer is feasible, including for rare genomic alterations," said the study.
While the results of the study look promising, researchers are still lamenting the fact that medical knowledge about the biological mechanisms of breast cancer remain scarce. However, the recent study has indeed proven that targeted treatment procedures for breast cancer and maybe even other types of disease may become a reality in the future.
