New genetic markers have been developed by researchers in the UK and Spain to predict how well a person’s cancer will respond to certain types of chemotherapy. These markers, called CIN signatures, measure chromosomal instability in a tumor and can tell doctors if a patient is likely to be resistant to specific drugs.
The biomarkers were tested on 840 patients with different cancers, including ovarian, breast, prostate, and sarcoma. The results showed that these markers could accurately predict resistance to common chemotherapy drugs like platinum, taxane, and anthracycline. For example, ovarian cancer patients predicted to be resistant to taxane had a 7 times higher risk of treatment failure.
This test can be performed using various methods, including a simple blood test for some cancer types. The goal is to help doctors choose the most effective treatment for each patient from the start, avoiding unnecessary and toxic chemotherapy, reducing costs, and improving outcomes.
While this is an important step forward in personalized cancer care, more research is needed, including larger clinical trials and regulatory approval, before the test can be used widely in hospitals.