JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
A new study finds 70 percent of women diagnosed with the early stages of a common form of breast cancer could skip chemotherapy.
The study, called TAILORx, was published by The New England Journal of Medicine and presented to the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
The results show more than 85,000 woman a year can safely forgo the treatment.
Dr. Dianne Johnson, a radiologist and the medical director of breast imaging at Memorial Hospital, says the study is profound and applies to women 51 and older. Johnson says forgoing chemo is a medical decision and determined through a collaboration of health care providers for the patient.
Eighty-five thousand women are impacted by breast cancer per year. Patients' risk factors are classified into three categories: low, intermediate and high.
Experts believe the results of the study will have an immediate impact on breast cancer treatment.