Selecting postoperative adjuvant systemic therapy for early stage breast cancer: A critical assessment of commercially available gene expression assays

J Surg Oncol. 2017 May;115(6):647-662. doi: 10.1002/jso.24561. Epub 2017 Feb 17.

Abstract

Risk stratification of patients with early stage breast cancer may support adjuvant chemotherapy decision-making. This review details the development and validation of six multi-gene classifiers, each of which claims to provide useful prognostic and possibly predictive information for early stage breast cancer patients. A careful assessment is presented of each test's analytical validity, clinical validity, and clinical utility, as well as the quality of evidence supporting its use.

Keywords: adjuvant; biomarkers; breast neoplasms; chemotherapy; clinical decision-making; gene expression; genomics risk; prognosis; tumor.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms / surgery
  • Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
  • Humans
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Reproducibility of Results