A new test that identifies seven distinct types of breast cancer offers new hope to women with the disease, say scientists.
The tumour sample test could be available
within two years and is expected to lead to more personalised treatments.
Identifying more biomarkers of cancer will help doctors tailor therapy plans that better suit their patients, avoiding over or under treatment.
Currently just two proteins are routinely
identified in breast cancer cells.
One is the oestrogen receptor (ER) that makes a
tumour hormone-sensitive.
The other is HER2, which is responsive to the
breast cancer drug Herceptin.
Lead researcher Dr Andy Green, from the
University of Nottingham, said: "With an
increasing number of treatment options
available for breast cancer patients, decision
making regarding the choice of the most
appropriate treatment method is becoming
increasingly complex.
"Improvements in care and outcome for patients
with breast cancer will involve improved
targeting of effective therapies to appropriate patients.
"Equally important should be improvement in
parallel strategies to avoid unnecessary or
inappropriate treatment and side effects."
The technology needed to measure the proteins
in tumour samples already exists in most
pathology laboratories across the UK, he said.
Last year researchers categorised 10 different
forms of breast cancer based on their underlying
gene defects.
But they can only be identified using
sophisticated genetic profiling, making this form
of test for patients costly and impractical.

In contrast, the seven cancer test could be ready for use in the clinic in as little as two years, it is
claimed.
The newly published research saw scientists
funded by the Breast Cancer Campaign looking
for signature biomarkers in 1,073 tumour
samples from the charity's tissue bank.
They found that 93% fitted perfectly into one of
seven classes. Another 7% had mixed
characteristics and were harder to categorise.
Further verification of the seven cancer types
was then made using another 28 tumour
samples.
The seven classes are defined by different
combinations and levels of 10 proteins found in
breast cancer cells.
These include ER and HER2, but also others not
currently tested, such as p53, cytokeratins,
HER3 and HER4.
Each cancer type has a different effect on
patient survival, according to the scientists
whose findings are reported in the British
Journal of Cancer.
The university-linked company Nottingham
Prognostics Limited has integrated the
biomarkers into its existing NPI test already
used to assess information about tumour size,
spread and grade.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the
Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "The days of one-
size-fits-all treatment are well and truly in the
past.
"We need to ensure the life-saving and life-
extending treatments we already have in the
clinic are used more effectively - directing the
right treatments to those who will benefit, and
sparing others from unnecessary side effects, so
that by 2050 we can achieve our ambition to
overcome breast cancer.
"This new test could be a realistic step towards
making the holy grail of personalised medicine a
reality, offering hope to the 50,000 women
diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every
year."

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