10 research outputs found
A randomised controlled trial of post-operative radiotherapy following breast-conserving surgery in a minimum-risk population. Quality of life at 5 years in the PRIME trial
Gene-Expression Signatures in Breast Cancer
The study by van de Vijver et al. is of considerable interest with respect
to the biology of breast cancer. However, from
the point of view of the individual patient and her
physician, the sensitivity and specificity of prognostic
profiles are more important than odds ratios.
It is possible to calculate these factors in part from
the results. For example, for "all new patients in the
consecutive series" (180 patients, listed in Table 2
of the article), the sensitivity and specificity of the
poor prognostic signature are 0.93 (95 percent confidence
interval, 0.81 to 0.98) and 0.53 (95 percent
confidence interval, 0.45 to 0.61), respectively. If
a hypothetical treatment were administered on this
basis, nearly two thirds of the patients with a poor
prognostic signature (65 of 104 patients) would be
overtreated. Thus, the reported genetic signatures
do not seem to be much sharper weapons for daily
practice than other, easier-to-obtain prognostic indicators