Prognostic Value of the DCIS Score in Breast Cancer

Transcript:

Joseph A. Sparano, MD: There was an interesting poster presented by Dr. Rakovitch evaluating the value of the DCIS score in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ. And when I say value, I mean the prognostic value. The cohort included a large group of women who had DCIS treated with wide excision, about half of whom received radiation. And one of the unique aspects of this analysis is that they compared the prognostic information provided by the DCIS score, which includes 5 proliferation genes, and PR [progesterone receptor], with an evaluation of estrogen signaling and HER2 signaling, ER [estrogen receptor] expression and HER2 expression.

And what they found was, is that the DCIS score, which includes the proliferation genes, not reflected obviously by just looking at ER or looking at HER2, provided more robust prognostic information, particularly in the patients who did not receive radiation. So I think that has important implications for the use of the DCIS score to help tailor, or guide, the use of radiation in patients with DCIS who’ve had excision, who were weighing a decision about whether or not to accept radiation or not.

Transcript Edited for Clarity