Mammaprint - should I believe a low score

hi there, I am grade 3 , 2cm and similar stats, 5 lymph nodes removed, all clear. I was offered chemo and was also told I would do well with 36 radiation treatments and 5 years of antihormonal. I struggled like you are with the decision. I was 45 at diagnosis so fairly young and was afraid of not doing it. Ultimately decided to skip it as side effects are many.

I am 8 years out now and still doing well. Whatever you decide regarding chemo with er+ your best tool is to faithfully take your antihormonal. Dont skip or drop out of that piece of treatment . Its key to reducing recurrence rate and its powerful. Good luck with your decision.

Bevin

I was a bit the same as gb2115 with a clinically high risk. My tumor was 4.8cm, 2 positive nodes with extranodal extension. My mammaprint came in at low risk so my MO said chemo would not be beneficial for my case. My tumor was grade 2 and I am stage 1b.He didn’t give me a choice just told me I would not benefit from it. I will be doing rads for the positive nodes. Best of luck with your decision.

All the time between tests and waiting for appointments... and now you have this question to chew on that could be completely moot!

I wonder whether you could arrange for a second opinion to coincide with the mammaprint results? You could always cancel if the mammaprint comes out high. But if it's intermediate, maybe it could be useful to have a second opinion? Or maybe in that case get the oncotype, either from your doc or second opinion doctor

I asked my BS why they used Oncotype testing instead of Mammaprint and she said it was because the test had been around longer and they had more confidence in the test. Their opinion of course but the vast majority of oncologists where I live use that test. I also asked my radiologist her opinion on the veracity of the test and she said it was a good barometer and I should feel optimistic about my test results.

I had a low score so there wasn’t any discussion about further testing plus my tumor was small. I was IDC, Stage 1b, Grade 1. I had a lumpectomy and 33 radiation treatments. 7 years out last August.

We have BC/BS insurance and they paid for the test. At that time it was $5k. Genomic Labs performed the testing. They did say if insurance refused to pay for it they would work out a payment plan with a sliding income scale. Make no mistake I would had the test one way or the other. My test results allowed me to dodge chemo. I have an 8% chance of recurrence which included taking Tamoxifen for 5 years which I did.

Good luck!

Diane

LillianGish: Can you give a link to your source regarding this statement:

With chemo and HT, 94.6% of the Mammaprint data base were distant metastasis free at 5 years. I know ER positive cancers have higher risk for spread after five years, but I think that's out of my hands now

I got a Mammaprint as well and got the report that comes with it, but I wasn't aware of any database. Is that a searchable/interactive database? I would appreciate learning more.

Thank you!

LillianGish: Thanks for the info. I understand about not being an expert, but isn't it wonderful how so many people on these boards are seeking science and trying to understand what is happening to them? I sometimes get skeptical looks when I tell someone about something I've learned on these discussion boards; they equate them with Facebook-like forums. But this is a special group and we have great moderators as well. We're definitely ahead of the curve (on this topic, at least).

It's time to go back to my MammPrint report then and see what it says. And as you pointed out, 2014 could be considered old when it comes to BC research. That's one of the things my MO made clear to me when he laid out my plan and prognosis. I am on Herceptin which is considered somewhat "new" in that it's only been in use for about a decade, so the data from everyone using it is only now starting to show up in meaningful studies. He pointed out that outcomes and statistics could improve in as little as five years. So the statistics from 2014 have almost certainly changed. I'm going to stay on plan and keep watching the research and keep challenging my docs. (They probably see me more as a PIA than a challenge!)

Mindy