New breast cancer test predicts if disease could return

Health & Fitness
20 Jul 2025 • 12:11 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • A new test has been developed to predict whether breast cancer is likely to return just two weeks after treatment begins.
  • Experts suggest this innovation could spare thousands of breast cancer patients from receiving unnecessary treatment.
  • The test targets oestrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer, a type accounting for around 200,000 global cases annually.
  • Developed by scientists at The Institute for Cancer Research, London, the test identifies the 6 per cent of patients at highest risk of relapse.
  • The findings aim to facilitate more precise and personalised treatment plans, guiding doctors on which patients need more intensive therapy.

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