In this edition of The Onco’Zine Brief Peter Hofland, Ph.D. talks with Leonard Farber, MD, a board-certified Radiation Oncologist, and healthcare executive. Farber is recognized for his ability to identify ground-breaking technologies and position them for success in clinical practice. He recently joined EHMET Health, an emerging medical device company with a state-of-the-art device for providing radiation as a treatment for breast cancer, Farber joined the company as the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Clinical Research. Farber also works with a large number of pioneering startups focusing on health and medicine, including establishments such as PreludeDx.

In today’s program, Hofland and Farber talk about Ductal Carcinoma in Situ or DCIS and DCISionRT, the only risk assessment test for patients with this disease, that predicts radiation therapy benefit.

Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
In the US, over 60,000 women are newly diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS each year, accounting for an estimated 18 – 25% of the total number of newly diagnosed breast tumors. Fortunately, DCIS is a highly curable disease with a 10-year cancer-specific survival of about 97%. Because DCIS is a "forerunner" of invasive breast cancer – and is often referred to as a pre-cancer - early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for reducing the risk of developing invasive breast cancer.

Current treatment strategies include breast-conserving surgery with radiotherapy, breast-conserving surgery alone, mastectomy or observation.

A recent study demonstrated that 53% of DCIS patients' risk scores were under classified and 34% were overclassified using traditional methods, resulting in overtreatment or undertreatment.

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