This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA

Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2002;288:820-821.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Ever more sophisticated tools for probing cancer's molecular roots and genes that affect response to therapies show promise for enhancing the understanding and treatment of malignancies. As presentations at recent scientific meetings indicate, researchers using such tools are gleaning insights that may help physicians more effectively determine which therapies are most likely to help and least likely to harm their patients with cancer.

PREDICTING WHO NEEDS THERAPY

Some researchers are attempting to determine whether tumors have patterns of gene expression that will accurately predict the prognoses for patients with cancer. Such "molecular signatures" could help clinicians determine which patients might benefit from more aggressive therapy while sparing others unnecessary treatment.

For example, adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improves the prognosis of patients with primary operable breast cancer, but some 70%-80% of patients who receive it would have survived without it, said Marc van de Vijver, PhD, of the Netherlands . . . [Full Text of this Article]