Novel method to classify new vs recurrent cancer

Washington, Dec 28 (UNI) A new method distinguishing between breast cancer recurrences and new primary tumors has been developed, a latest study said.

One commonly used method is to detect changes in DNA copy number, and another is to compare clinical and pathologic characteristics of two tumors, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

''We compared these two methods in 22 breast cancer patients with a new one that uses DNA breakpoint data by assessing their ability to distinguish between the two,'' said Marc Bollet, MD Curie Institute Paris.

In 14 women, all three methods agreed on whether the tumor was a new primary or a recurrence. The DNA breakpoints method also outperformed the clinical one in determining the likelihood of metastasis.

The study concluded that DNA breakpoints could better determine the nature of the breast cancer recurrence than clinical and pathologic characteristics or DNA copy number information.

UNI