New Test Could Predict Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

Researchers and scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in London have found a tool that can detect and analyze immune cell hotspots in tumor samples. The tumor samples were collected from 1,178 women who had ER+ breast cancer (oestrogen receptor positive). The researchers found that those who came back with their breast cancer at the lowest numbers were more likely to have a high number of immune cell hotspots.

The researchers also found that the chance of having cancer return within 10 years after a diagnosis was 25 percent higher when immune cells behaved in clustering fashion than when the immune cells were dispersed evenly. Furthermore, the researchers found that the risk of the cancer returning within 5 years after diagnosis was 23 percent higher in the women who had the immune cell hotspots.