About the test

The Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test has been developed for patients with early-stage HR+, HER2- breast cancer to:

• Identify those patients who may benefit from chemotherapy^1,2
• Determine the magnitude of chemotherapy benefit^1-5
• Support treatment decisions^1-5

Chemotherapy can cause both short- and long-term side effects affecting current and future health, quality of life, family life and work life.^6-8 The vast majority of patients with HR+, HER2- early-stage breast cancer do not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.⁹

Patients are eligible for the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test if they are:

• Recently diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer
• Medically eligible for chemotherapy

And the cancer is:

• Anatomic stage I, II, or IIIa
• Estrogen-receptor positive (ER+)
• Human epidermal growth factor receptor-negative (HER2-)

Because the goal of the Breast Recurrence Score test is to facilitate treatment planning, the best time to order the test is before treatment planning begins. Ordering is easy, and the test can be run on a post-surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy) tumour sample or on a core biopsy.

The Oncotype DX test has been available in Canada since the end of 2007, and, to date, over 100,000 Canadian women have benefited from testing. In all Canadian provinces, the test is publicly funded for patients with early-stage node negative breast cancer. The test is also publicly funded for patients with node positive breast cancer (1-3 nodes). Individual patients also have the option of paying for the test themselves if there is no coverage in their province, or if they do not meet prespecified provincial eligibility criteria.