A recently developed genetic test may help breast cancer patients in remission determine their risk of a relapse. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 14. approved a new genetic test being developed by Dako Denmark, a pathological company that works to improve the way cancers are diagnosed and treated. The TOP2A FISH pharmDx test aims to detect and confirm abnormalities in the TOP2A gene – a gene which plays a role in DNA replication. Any changes in this gene in breast cancer cells may determine whether a relapse in the cancer will occur. The test fluorescently labels DNA using a technology known as fluorescent in situ hybridization, or FISH. The development of the new test will help recovering cancer patients determine if they are at risk for a recurrence of the cancer and if long-term survival will be decreased. According to a Dako news release, the information gathered from the test will help physicians in evaluating a prognosis for breast cancer patients. Dako said patients with a normal TOP2A gene are more likely to recover than patients with TOP2A amplifications or deletions. Amplifications occur when a gene makes multiple copies of itself, and deletions are the absence of a gene. If the TOP2A gene’s status is not normal, it could cause a higher risk of breast cancer. “[The test] can also provide valuable information to assist health care providers and patients in better understanding the biology of breast cancer disease,” Daniel Schultz, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a news release. Kendra Sherer, elementary education senior, said anything that would help determine someone’s risk for breast cancer has benefits. In the National Cancer Institute publication, SEER Cancer Statistics Review, breast cancer diagnoses have gone up slightly since the 1970s, but they have gradually gone down this decade. One in seven women was diagnosed with breast cancer from 1997 to 1999, while one in eight women was diagnosed between 2001 through 2003. In the same publication, NCI said risk of breast cancer increases with age. Women between the ages of 30 and 39 have a one in 233 chance of getting the cancer. Women between the ages of 60 and 69 have a one in 27 chance. The American Cancer Society said an estimated 178,480 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2007.
“The risks for breast cancer are very high and anything that might be able to help prevent it is definitely beneficial,” said Ashleigh Carlos, communication disorder junior. According to the National Program of Cancer Registries, women in Louisiana with breast cancer are at a higher rate than the national average. In 2004, 120 females out of 100,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer in Louisiana. The national average of breast cancer diagnoses in 2004 was 117 per 100,000 females.    The National Center for Health Statistics reported in 2007 that there were 2,830 deaths caused by breast cancer. “[Breast cancer] is probably not something on the forefront of my mind,” said Jaylyn Blythe, English sophomore. “But I’m definitely concerned with the probability of it.” Blythe said the risks of breast cancer are scary. Even the possibility of waking up one day and find out you have cancer is a frightening thought, Blythe said. “I’m very excited that people are going to have a better chance in the future to survive with it and defeat the cancer,” said Andrea Nieman, marketing senior.
—-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]