Find out how to tackle one of the biggest challenges in treating cancer with Genomic testing for cancer treatment Read more
Testing for the best cancer treatment option is more than a medical procedure: it’s a significant moment that can affect various aspects of your life, from your emotional well-being to your interactions with loved ones. As you prepare for the test, you might be faced with a mix of emotions and logistical concerns—like discussing the upcoming test with family or managing work commitments. This section aims to be your comprehensive guide, addressing not only the test itself but also the emotional and social factors that come into play.
You may be wondering why this specific test is being recommended for you. The aim here is to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible from your treatment plan. Would you benefit from chemotherapy or wouldn’t endocrine therapy alone be the better option for you? EndoPredict® goes beyond traditional methods to offer a nuanced understanding of your breast cancer’s behavior — giving you and your physician confidence to choose the treatment plan that is right for you.
Understanding the specifics of your medical condition is the first step in taking control of your healthcare journey. EndoPredict® is a genomic test specifically designed to provide more accurate information about your breast cancer. It is a second generation gene expression test – the newest type of test for predicting breast cancer recurrence. It is for post- and premenopausal women with early and non-metastatic ER+, HER2- breast cancer with or without affected lymph nodes.
This is a type of breast cancer where the cancer cells grow in response to estrogen but do not have high levels of the HER2 protein, which can promote the growth of cancer cells. This type of cancer often responds well to hormone therapies that block or lower estrogen levels.
EndoPredict® accurately measures the activity of specific genes that influence tumor growth, resulting in a 12-Gene Molecular Score. This allows conclusions about the likely outcome of the cancer. Higher scores are associated with a higher risk. This genomic fingerprint of your individual breast cancer is then combined with measurements, like tumor size and the number of positive lymph nodes. This provides your individual EPclin Risk Score, which allows a more accurate assessment of your early and late (up to 15 years) recurrence risk.
After diving into the details of EndoPredict® on this site, you might still have questions. This video aims to wrap it all up, offering you critical insights in an easy-to-understand format. Find out how your EPclin Risk Score isn’t just a number — it’s a key that can unlock personalized treatment options for you. Ideal for those seeking direct answers, this video aims to inform you in your path forward.
Is chemotherapy right for you? EndoPredict® shows your individual risk of breast cancer distant recurrence in the next 10 years if you were treated by hormone therapy alone.3 It also estimates how much chemotherapy is likely to reduce the risk of your breast cancer distant recurrence.4 As tumors treated with chemotherapy could also return, the benefits of chemotherapy may not outweigh the potential side-effects for you. EndoPredict® shows your risk of your breast cancer recurrence in the 10 years after you received 5 years of hormone therapy.5 This can help you and your doctor to decide if 5 years of hormone therapy is enough or if extended hormone therapy should be considered. This information is provided before you start treatment with drugs, so you can make treatment decisions for the present and future.
EndoPredict® is the most accurate prognostic test to guide early treatment decisions, providing an individual risk of breast cancer recurrence at 10 years.1,4
Some women will benefit more from chemotherapy than others – EndoPredict® predicts the personalized benefit from chemotherapy for every patient to guide decision making in treatment.3
EndoPredict® is the only test to predict breast cancer recurrence risk up to 15 years, helping clinicians decide if the patient can safely stop endocrine therapy at 5 years.2
Having open, honest conversations with your family and friends can provide immense emotional relief, but starting those conversations can be daunting. This guide aims to help you communicate effectively with your loved ones, ensuring you get the emotional support you need while also helping them understand what you’re going through.
Effective communication is essential during times of medical uncertainty. While it’s tempting to shield our loved ones to protect them emotionally, sharing your experiences can lead to mutual emotional support and a stronger network.
Taking the first step can be the hardest. When and where should you talk? Who should be there? Here are some tips on starting the conversation:
Deciding what to share can be a balancing act. Here are some pointers on what you could include:
Everyone reacts differently. Some may offer immediate support, while others may need time to process the information. Here are some tips on how to manage and navigate these reactions:
Your well-being is the priority. It’s okay to set boundaries and let people know how much or how little you wish to discuss your medical condition at any given time. If you need more help, search for patient support groups to aid you in this emotional journey.
Conducted on your initial biopsy or surgery tissue, EndoPredict® requires no extra samples and delivers results in about a week. With cutting-edge gene expression technology, it examines your genes alongside clinical-pathological factors to provide a personalized risk score. Quick and straightforward, EndoPredict® equips you and your doctor with vital information to make confident decisions on your next steps.
Once you get a message that the test is done and your results are available, it’s natural to feel a mix of relief, apprehension, and a dozen other emotions. You’ll want to know what your EndoPredict score actually mean for you and what comes next on your healthcare journey. This section is here to help you make sense of your results in a way that addresses not just the medical facts but also your emotional needs and social context.
The EndoPredict® Breast Cancer Prognostic Test provides clear, fast and actionable results for every woman with ER positive/HER2 negative early-stage breast cancer. It comes as a multi-page report providing three pieces of information individualized for you to aid treatment decisions.
The top of the first page shows a summary of your clinical information (12-Gene Molecular Score, tumor size and nodal status), EPclin Risk Score (1.0 – 6.0) and EPclin Risk Class (high/low).
The bottom section summarizes the three pieces of individualized information and is organized by treatment planning stage. For the initial treatment planning it answers the question first, what the risk of distant recurrence in the next 10 years is and by this if you can even totally avoid chemotherapy. Second, it gives you and your doctor a percentage of the absolute benefit from chemotherapy. In the stage of long-term treatment planning, the test result answers the question, what the risk of distant recurrence in years 5-15 after five years of endocrine therapy is and therefore, if you can safely avoid extended endocrine treatment.
The first graph reports on, what your 10-year risk of distant recurrence is. The EPclin Risk Score is plotted as a continuous risk curve, graphically illustrating the patient’s individualized risk of distant recurrence within 0-10 years. In this EPclin LOW-RISK example, an EPclin Risk Score of 2.0 is associated with a 3% (95% CI: 1.1% -3.6%) 10-year likelihood of experiencing a distant recurrence when treated with 5 years of endocrine therapy alone.
The next graph reports on your absolute benefit from chemotherapy. The EPclin Risk Score is plotted again as a continuous risk curve, showing the likelihood of distant recurrence based on whether you would receives endocrine therapy alone (solid line) or endocrine plus chemotherapy (dotted line). In this example, an EPclin of 2.0 gives an estimated 0% absolute benefit from chemotherapy when used in combination with endocrine therapy, calculated from the difference between the curves.
The final graph shows you, if you could safely avoid extended endocrine treatment. It reports the likelihood of experiencing a late distant recurrence within 5 – 15 years of diagnosis. This analysis applies only to patients who are distant-recurrence free after 5 years of endocrine therapy alone. In our example, a patient with EPclin Risk Score 2.0 (low-risk) who is distant-recurrence free after 5 years of endocrine therapy alone, has a 2% likelihood of recurrence within years 5-15.
The waiting is over, and you have your EndoPredict® results in hand. What are the implications now for your treatment plan? EndoPredict® shows your individual risk of your breast cancer recurrence in the next 10 years if you were treated by hormone therapy alone.3 It also estimates how much chemotherapy is likely to reduce the risk of your breast cancer recurrence.4 As tumors treated with chemotherapy could also return, the benefits of chemotherapy may not outweigh the potential side-effects. This information will help you and your doctor to make a safe, informed decision about your initial and long-term treatment.
EndoPredict® shows your risk of your breast cancer recurrence in the 10 years after you received 5 years of hormone therapy.5 This can help you and your doctor to decide if 5 years of hormone therapy is enough or if extended hormone therapy should be considered. This information is provided before you start treatment with drugs, so you can make treatment decisions for the present and future.
EndoPredict® is different because it is more accurate than first generation tests and identifies more true low-risk patients than other second generation tests.5,6 It is the only test that can predict breast cancer distant recurrence risk up to 15 years in ER+/HER2- tumors3 and, unlike other tests, provides a clear individual benefit from chemotherapy and risk estimate to guide treatment decisions now and in the future.
No, EndoPredict® is a genomic test which analyses your cancer for activity of certain genes that indicate how likely it is to grow and spread, helping you and your doctor to make safe treatment decisions. BRCA testing is a genetic test that indicates whether you have a mutation in a gene linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.
Yes, EndoPredict® can be used when lymph nodes are involved. In fact, EndoPredict® gives the most accurate prognosis for node positive patients, guiding both early and long-term treatment planning.
EndoPredict® uses a small sample of your cancer taken during your surgery or biopsy, which is then sent off to a laboratory for testing.
We understand you want to start your treatment as soon as possible, so it’s important to get a quick EndoPredict® test result. Fortunately, your doctor will receive your result within a few days after the lab gets your tumor sample, giving you and your doctor more time to make the right treatment decisions.
No, you only need to be tested once with EndoPredict®, and this result will help guide treatment decisions now and further along in your journey.
For more information on Eurobio Scientific’s genomic testing services, visit our website www.endotransfer.wpenginepowered.com. For more information on breast cancer in general, you can visit www.cancerresearchuk.org or www.breastcancer.org
Download the EndoPredict patient brochure if you would prefer to read the paper version.