A simple genetic test can identify which patients with deadly brain tumors will be helped by a treatment hailed as the first significant advance against the disease in decades and in which patients the drug is a waste of time, scientists said Wednesday. A study by Swiss doctors, presented Wednesday at a cancer drug conference in Geneva, found that 46 percent of patients with the right genetic profile were still alive after two years if they got the drug, temozolomide, as well as radiotherapy, whereas the chance of survival among patients with the wrong genetic signature was only 14 percent — not much better than with radiotherapy alone. Experts say the test could avoid the raising of false hopes in patients with glioblastomas who would not benefit, freeing doctors to try other approaches. The finding is another step in the quest for the individual tailoring of cancer treatment, they say.
