We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Multigene Testing for Breast Cancer Patients Proves Cost-Effective

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 16 Oct 2019
Print article
Image: Scanning electron photomicrograph (SEM) of breast cancer cells. Unselected, high-risk multigene testing for all patients with breast cancer is extremely cost-effective (Photo courtesy of Marie Thibault).
Image: Scanning electron photomicrograph (SEM) of breast cancer cells. Unselected, high-risk multigene testing for all patients with breast cancer is extremely cost-effective (Photo courtesy of Marie Thibault).
Health systems in the UK and USA could cost-effectively screen all women with breast cancer for risky germline changes in a handful of breast or ovarian cancer genes, according to a new economic modeling analysis, identifying at-risk individuals who could benefit from additional imaging tests and cancer-reducing interventions.

Knowing a patient’s genetic pathogenic variant status is important for the management and prognosis of breast cancer (BC). After unilateral BC, pathogenic variant carriers can choose contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) to reduce their risk of developing contralateral BC and opt for surgical prevention of ovarian cancer (OC).

An international team of scientists including those from the Royal London Hospital (London, UK) evaluated the cost-effectiveness and potential health effects of multigene testing in unselected breast cancer patients or in individuals who met current family history- or clinical feature-based criteria. The study was based on data for 11,836 breast cancer patients in the UK, USA, and Australia who were tested for high-risk variants in the BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 genes, together with information on related screening strategies and interventions for those with cancer-related variants in these genes. The investigators concluded that the unselected approach was cost-effective for both payors and society in some 98% to 99% of UK health system simulations and between 64% and 68% of simulations done in the context of the USA health system.

Using incremental cost-effectiveness ratio analyses, the team estimated that unselected testing for women with breast cancer would cost the UK health payor £10,464 ($12,966) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained by those tested, while the cost for USA payors would be $65,661 for each additional QALY. The societal cost estimates came in at £7,216 ($8,941) per QALY in the UK and $61,618 per QALY in the USA. The investigators projected that BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 gene testing in all breast cancer patients over one year could translate into 2,101 fewer breast or ovarian cancer cases, for example, and 633 related deaths, in the UK. In the USA, the same analysis suggested that a year of unselected testing could prevent more than 9,700 cancer cases and 2,406 breast or ovarian cancer deaths.

Rosa Legood, PhD, an Associate Professor and co-senior author of the study, said, “Our analysis shows that testing all women with breast cancer for breast and ovarian cancer gene mutations is a more cost-effective strategy which can prevent these cancers in high-risk women and save lives. This approach has important implications given the effective options that are available for breast and ovarian cancer risk management and prevention for women at increased risk.” The study was published on October 3, 2019, in the journal JAMA Oncology.

Related Links:
Royal London Hospital

Gold Member
Veterinary Hematology Analyzer
Exigo H400
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
HIV-1 Test
HIV-1 Real Time RT-PCR Kit
New
Myeloperoxidase Assay
IDK MPO ELISA

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Researcher Kanta Horie places a sample in a mass spectrometer that measures protein levels in blood plasma and other fluids (Photo courtesy of WashU Medicine)

Highly Accurate Blood Test Diagnoses Alzheimer’s and Measures Dementia Progression

Several blood tests are currently available to assist doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms. However, these tests do not provide insights into the clinical... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study (Photo courtesy of UNIST)

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.