OncoStem Diagnostics, an Oncology focused company that enables
personalised cancer treatment, is pleased to announce the publication of a
review paper on the impact of over treatment of Early stage breast cancer on
patients. The review indicates that in early-stage breast cancer where the risk
of relapse is very low, overtreatment can be damaging to a patient both
physically and financially. To avoid this, 6 senior cancer specialists from
across India
who authored the paper advocate that patients opt for OncoStem’s ‘CanAssist Breast’ a prognostic test designed
to classify patients depending on the risk of cancer recurrence.
Low-risk patients typically do not benefit from
adding chemotherapy to the treatment regime. OncoStem’s “Made in India”
test is developed and validated on Indian patients and thus is most suitable.
By analysing the aggressiveness of patient’s tumor CanAssist Breast identifies
patients who will have minimal benefit (Low-risk) or who will benefit the most
(high risk) by adding chemotherapy to their treatment.
Senior Cancer Specialist from across India have
contributed to the study
The review paper brings out key insights on the need
for a personalized approach for treating breast cancer. The oncologists who
authored the paper are Dr. G S Bhattacharyya (Salt Lake Medical Center
Kolkata), Dr. DC Doval (RGCI, Delhi ), Dr. Chirag
Desai (Vedanta, Ahmedabad), Dr. Harit Chaturvedi (Max
Hospital , Delhi ),
Dr. Sanjay Sharma (ACI, Mumbai) and Dr. Somashekhar S P (Manipal, Bangalore ). These renowned oncologists have a
combined experience of 15 decades in Oncology and are key opinion leaders with
many scientific publications to their names.
Commenting on the review, Dr. Manjiri
Bakre, CEO and Founder, OncoStem Diagnostics said, “We
are pleased by the insights provided by this team of esteemed and highly
experienced oncologists. This is a great validation for ‘CanAssist
Breast’ and the team
behind the research. The benefit that early-stage patients receive from chemotherapy
is usually low. Since most early-stage patients can do well without
chemotherapy, this makes accurate risk prediction an all-important prerequisite
for effective treatment. It is therefore necessary to find out patients with
low-risk of cancer recurrence to avoid chemotherapy, given its side effects and
the toll it takes on the patients’ quality of life. Currently, despite
prognostic tests that predict risk of cancer recurrence being widely adopted in
the West, most Indian patients do not have access to these expensive tests. As
a result, most Indian patients, including those who might have a ‘low risk of
recurrence’, are often
prescribed chemotherapy and consequently bear toxic effects of chemotherapy
treatment that reduces their quality of life. Especially in the times of
COVID-19 pandemic, taking chemotherapy in a hospital can increase patient’s
risk of contracting the infection.
A test like ‘CanAssist Breast’ which can be helpful to doctors and patients
determine the risk-benefit ratio of chemotherapy and plan accordingly. There is also a huge cost to administering
chemotherapy, whether paid for by the patient, insurance companies or the
Indian Government. If the use of chemotherapy can be evidence-driven using a
test like CanAssist Breast, then it can lead to potential cost savings to the
patient, insurance companies and Government of about INR 700 crores per annum.
This is especially beneficial in a country like India where the breast cancer
incidence is rising dramatically.”
Prof. Dr. Somashekhar
S P, Chairman & HOD Surgical Oncology-MHEPL (Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore ) added, “‘CanAssist
Breast’ is backed with
robust scientific background and research. It’s highly accurate, well validated
on Indian patients and has a short turn around time. The test stratifies low
and high risk breast cancer hormonal receptor patients and avoids unnecessary
chemotherapy. In addition to this, it is highly cost effective without
compromising the outcomes. It can help oncologists, tailor make risk
stratification and better treatment planning.”
Dr. Harit Chaturvedi,
Chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care, Delhi said, “CanAssist Breast test helps in
identifying the group of patients for whom chemotherapy is not helpful. We
avoid the cost and side effects without compromising on the outcomes. The
exorbitant cost of other tests serving the same purpose was beyond the reach of
our population. ‘CanAssist Breast’ will lead to wide application of this knowledge and
help tailor breast cancer treatment better than ever.”
The burden of a breast cancer diagnosis is multifold
– women experience the physical trauma of cancer treatment as well as
psycho-social issues due to side-effects of the treatment. Patients and their
families undergo considerable financial toxicity in terms of high treatment
costs, wage loss and loss in productivity. This is especially critical in India where
most medical expenditure is out of their own savings. Most families experience
catastrophic payments and financial distress as a result of a breast cancer
diagnosis. With early-stage breast cancer where the risk of relapse is very
low, overtreatment can be damaging to a patient both physically and
financially.
The review paper summarizes studies from India have
shown that the cost of drugs like the chemotherapy drugs used in cancer
treatment account for more than 1/3rd of
a patient’s total cost of illness. Other than medical expenses, patients also
experience financial distress to the tune of an extra 20% of cost of treatment,
due to loss of income (both patient and caregiver) while undergoing cancer
treatment, as well as travel and accommodation expenses incurred for treatment.
Breast cancer is not a one-size-fits-all disease.
Decades of research has shown that breast cancer has clearly distinguishable
subtypes that need to be treated differently. A personalized approach is
required to ensure optimal treatment. Treatment can easily be de-escalated for
early stage breast cancer patients using biomarker based tests that determine the
risk of recurrence and guide treatment accordingly.
Studies have shown that patients with low risk of
relapse can safely avoid chemotherapy with no difference in survival. We now
have an Indian solution CanAssist Breast that can help 70% breast cancer patients
safely avoid chemotherapy. Indian patients can now take advantage of the latest
in science and technology to improve their quality of life and decrease their
financial burden.