OncoStem's tests for breast cancer can predict chances of re-occurrence

The start-up has a central laboratory in Bengaluru to test all samples

Payal Sharma, 40, was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. As a standard course of treatment, she would have got chemotherapy, which has side effects. While a tumour is not detrimental at a primary stage, it can be fatal if it comes back.

Doctors tested her tumour to see if there was a low or high risk of it re-occurring. They found a low risk and she was treated with other therapies, not chemotherapy. This particular test was conducted by OncoStem Diagnostics, a Bengaluru-based and oncology-focused start-up, which raised $6 million last week from Sequoia Capital India and Artiman Ventures. 

This test is