A new biomarker study provides novel insights into how dose-dense chemotherapy can improve survival for some patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. In the study, researchers analyzed 12-year follow-up data from the Phase III CALGB 9741 trial, which included 1,973 patients with node-positive, early-stage breast cancer.
The results showed that dose-dense chemotherapy, given every two weeks instead of the standard three-week schedule, improved disease-free survival by 20% and overall survival by 15%. Using a biomarker test developed at MD Anderson in the lab of Fraser Symmans, M.B.,Ch.B.*, the researchers discovered that 40% of the patients with a low endocrine activity index were most likely to benefit from this treatment.
Their findings show that dose-dense chemotherapy is more effective than the standard schedule for women with early-stage ER-positive breast cancer and low endocrine activity index, and the results highlight the importance of biomarker-driven approaches in tailoring cancer therapies.