Soon, simple blood test to predict breast cancer recurrence

The kit, which is being developed in Canada, focuses on luminal A breast cancer - the most common form of the disease and the type generally thought to have the best prognosis.

The University of Alberta researchers tested blood samples taken from women when they had been diagnosed with breast cancer years previously, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Comparing the DNA of samples taken from women whose cancer had returned with DNA of samples from women who had remained in remission showed that genetic changes were linked to the cancer's return.

Other predictor tests in development use the genes from the cancer itself. But Canadian researchers believe their technique will be more accurate as it uses the DNA a person is born with to work out if they have a predisposition to breast cancer recurring.

It is hoped that in future, the test could be used alongside traditional microscopic techniques to improve the way breast cancer patients are treated.

"If we can accurately predict which women are at high risk of breast cancer recurrence, it gives the physicians and oncologists treating these women time to design a more aggressive therapy in the hopes of preventing the cancer from coming back," said researcher Sambasivarao Damaraju.

"Treatment strategies could be tailor-made for these women based on their genetic make-up and how susceptible it makes them to breast cancer recurrence," Damaraju said.

More research and several years of large-scale testing is needed before the test is marketed, researchers said.

The details were published in the journal PLoS ONE.