What Genetics test would tell me if Tamoxifen will help prevent recurrence or not?
I was detected with HER2+, ER+, PR- Breast Cancer in Apr '05. IT was poorly different. and was nearly 5cm in longest dimension. I was a stage IIB by one set of Standards and a III,III,IV by another .... took the Adriamycin/Cytoxin, 6weekly dose-dense of Taxol out of 12 alone, until HERCEPTIN was approved, then I took 6 more Taxols + 6 herceptinsIV. Then I had 6 More weekly doses of Herceptins, followed by a year every 3 weeks of HERCEptin full Strength.. I hardly weigh 100 lbs. AT the end of that year my ONC added Zometa every 2 or 3 months.. and before or after the HERCEPTIN.. i had 6 weks of radiation on my the site where I once had a Breast.. had surgery to remove in Apr.), Now i am only taking TAMOXIFEN =pill 20mg/day. What does ?(forgot name) indicate or put me..it was the III,III.IV one ?? What is the name of the Gehetic TEST that tells if Tamoxifen is beneficial or not? and please help my ChemoedBrain on What does the Oncotype DX indicate.. ?? and if the CTC is good to do if available? kat katcdale@yahoo.com
Kat, wow, you've been through the wringer! I'm glad you're finally down to "just" tamoxifen. There isn't a genetic test that will tell you if tamoxifen will be beneficial; all the studies, for years, have indicated that it IS helpful for women with ER/PR-receptive cancer, such as yourself. So it's a good bet thatit would help you prevent recurrence. The Oncotype-DX predicts how much chemo will help - so you're already past that point. The CTC (circulating tumor cells) test shows how well any particular treatment is working; it's quite a new test and, of course, not foolproof, but if you've been diagnosed with a metastasis (have you been? hard to tell from your question, although that's what stage IV means), then the CTC would indeed be a good test to take - it's generally given every 3-4 weeks, to track progress. Good luck going forward, Kat- PJH
- Report Abuse
- Was this helpful? Yes
