A blood test may tailor breast cancer treatment for older women

For women age 70 and over with a common form of breast cancer, determining "the right size" of treatment can be challenging, in part because clinicians have limited tools to guide individualized treatment decisions. In a study published today in Clinical Cancer Research, scientists at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that a blood-based test may help guide treatment decisions for a carefully selected group of women age 70 and over who have estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, who were considering endocrine (or hormone-blocking) therapy as the primary treatment and forgoing surgery and radiation.