The Oncotype DX (genetic assay) is another test to enhance the ability to distinguish between low risk and high risk patients. Patients in the high-risk group, who would benefit from chemotherapy can then be pre-tested to see what treatments have the best opportunity of being successful, and offers a better chance of tumor response resulting in progression-free survival, while those in the lower-risk groups can be spared the unnecessary toxicity, particularly associated with ineffective treatment.

This laboratory test, as well as the others, is a tool for the oncologist. The oncologist should take advantage of all the tools available to him/her to treat a patient. And since studies show that only a minority of patients do respond to chemotherapy that is available to them, there should be due consideration to looking at the advantage of molecular and cellular assay tests to the resistance that has been found to chemotherapy drugs.

And, according to the National Cancer Institute, those who benefit substantially from "targeted" drugs make up a fairly small proportion of cancer patients. Conventionally, chemotherapy is recommended according to guidelines generated by statistical data. According to the FDA, the response rate of a patient that follows these guidelines is approximately 20%. What if you are one of those few?

Cell Culture (cell-based) Assays can report to a physician specifically which chemotherapy agent would benefit a high risk cancer patient by testing that patient's live cancer cells. Drug sensitivity profiles differ significantly among cancer patients even when diagnosed with the same cancer. Knowing the drug sensitivity profile of a specific cancer patient allows the treating oncologists to prescribe chemotherapy that will be the most effective against the tumor cells of that patient.

Every breast cancer patient can have her own unique chemotherapy trial based on consultation of pathogenic profiles and drug sensitivity testing data. Research and application of these tests are being encouraged by growing patient demands, scientific advances and medical ethics. These tests are not a luxury but an absolute necessity, and a powerful strategy that cannot be overlooked.

Improving cancer patient diagnosis and treatment through a combination of cellular and gene-based testing will offer predictive insight into the nature of an individual's particular cancer and enable oncologists to prescribe treatment more in keeping with the heterogeneity of the disease. The biologies are very different and the response to given drugs is very different.