Genes Predict Whether Cancer Patients Will Live or Die
Almost everyone in Class 1 — roughly half of patients — is cured when the tumor is removed. As for those in Class 2, 70 to 80 percent will die within five years. Their cancers will re-emerge as growths in the liver. For them, there is no cure and no way to slow the disease.
Gina Kolata on new approaches to fighting cancer in the NYT.
I’ve heard similar anecdotes about breast cancer. Most breast cancers fall into one of two categories: either they are fast-growing and will kill you. Or they are slow-growing and easy to cure. Few fall in between.
It’s a terrifying reality, and I can understand why some people in the article wanted to go ahead with treatment without testing for the class.
I agree, Alex. I’m not sure if I would want to know which class I was in. Besides the emotional toll this kind of information can have on people, I wonder whether the class that someone is in will ultimately have an effect on what kind of care you receive. I sincerely hope we never reach the age when you’re-going-to-die-anyway-so-we’re-not-going-to-treat-you becomes a reality.