Breast cancer tool helps determine therapy

Published: Sept. 24, 2008 at 4:58 PM

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A predictive measurement -- preoperative endocrine prognostic index, or PEPI score -- may help women choose breast cancer treatment, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers led by Dr. Matthew Ellis of Washington University developed and validated the PEPI score.

"At present about 83 percent of patients are cured of breast cancer," Ellis said in a statement. "The key is to identify that 83 percent so we can treat them with effective available therapies and focus our research efforts on the 17 percent who are resistant to current treatments."

The PEPI score was derived from tumor characteristics present after women with stage 2 and 3 breast cancer, who underwent four months of anti-estrogen therapy before having breast surgery. The PEPI score takes into account: the size of the breast tumor, whether cancer is present in nearby lymph nodes, how fast tumor cells are multiplying and whether tumors lose their estrogen receptors.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that women with a PEPI score of 0 had almost no risk of cancer recurrence during the five-year follow-up and could safely avoid taking chemotherapeutic agents, but women with PEPI scores of 4 or above are at very high risk of having their cancer return and should be given all appropriate post-surgical treatments.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Tagliabue to head a study of USOC (4 min)
NFL: San Francisco 10, Chicago 6 (8 min)
NBA: Cleveland 109, Miami 102 (27 min)
UPI Sports Calendar for Friday, Nov. 13 (31 min)
NHL: Nashville 3, St. Louis 1 (56 min)
NHL: Tampa Bay 4, Minnesota 3 (SO) (58 min)
UPI NewsTrack Sports
fark
Drew's list of 'seasonal' stories is woefully incomplete without "annual turkey baster search"
Experts wonder if the upswing in retail theft may be connected to the unemployment rate. What the...
MPAA shuts down an entire town's wi-fi because one person illegally downloaded a movie. Take that,...
Verizon has found a way to charge you for accidental keystrokes
Coming to a hipster douche near you: 1890s fashion. 'Cause nothing says "manly" like knee socks,...
Tennessee man found asleep in a ditch with a loaded rifle and a bottle of moonshine