A global study could mean breast cancer sufferers avoid unnecessary treatment
A breakthrough breast cancer study could reclassify the disease into 10 categories changing the way it is diagnosed and treated.
The global study by Cancer Research UK is the largest genetic study of breast cancer of its kind analysing 2,000 tumour samples taken from women diagnosed with breast cancer between five and 10 years ago.
'Our results will pave the way for doctors in the future to diagnose the type of breast cancer a woman has, the types of drugs that will work, and those that won't, in a much more precise way,' says study co-author Professor Carlos Caldas, from the University of Cambridge.
'In the future, breast cancer patients will receive treatment targeted to the genetic fingerprint of their tumour.'
The comprehensive biological study has reclassified breast cancer in to 10 types suggesting breast cancer is an umbrella term for a number of diseases.
With a deeper understanding of the molecular anatomy of breast cancer tumours, doctors will be able to prescribe more effective treatments for women improving survival rates in the future.
'Breast cancer is a global problem and it's exciting to see a new framework for the understanding of breast cancer emerge,' says co-author Professor Samuel Aparicio from BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver.
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