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CancerQuest > Introduction to Patient Information > Introduction to Cancer Detection and Diagnosis > Molecular Detection and Analysis of Cancer > Oncotype DX® for Colon Cancer

Oncotype DX® for Colon Cancer

What is the Oncotype DX^® test for colon cancer?
In cancer, some genes are too active, and some are turned down too much.  This test was develped by Genomic Health and is designed to look at the activity of 12 genes.  Seven of the genes are known to be involved in colon cancer growth and/or spread.  The other five allow the lab to make sure the test is working properly.  The test is performed on colon cancer tissue removed during surgery.  The purpose of the test is to make predictions about how likely the cancer is to return (recur) after it is removed surgically. If the cancer is likely to return, the patient may choose to take chemotherapy.⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

The test has been validated by clinical studies of colon cancer patients but is still under review and has not yet been adopted by the major clinical cancer organizations as part of standard cancer treatment. At least one publications concludes that additional testing is necessary to confirm the usefulness of the test to patients.⁽²⁾⁽³⁾

What patients may choose to get the Oncotype DX^® test?
The test is for patients who have confirmed stage 2 colon cancer.

What are the results of the test?
The end result of the testing is a 'Recurrence Score^®', a number between 0 and 100.  The higher the number, the more likely the cancer is to recur in the the three years following the surgery.  The report  provides graphs and printed results.⁽¹⁾

Note that this test has not been cleared by the FDA and it is not currently included in standard colon cancer staging/diagnosis guides (ASCO, NCCN).

References for this page:

1. Oncotype DX® website (Genomic Health). Accessed 12-08-2011 [http://www.oncotypedx.com/en-US/Colon.aspx]
2. Gray RG, Quirke P, Handley K, Lopatin M, Magill L, Baehner FL, Beaumont C, Clark-Langone KM, Yoshizawa CN, Lee M, Watson D, Shak S, Kerr DJ. Validation Study of a Quantitative Multigene Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Assessment of Recurrence Risk in Patients With Stage II Colon Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Nov 7. [Epub ahead of print] [http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2011/11/03/JCO.2010.32.8732.long] [PUBMED]
3. Webber EM, Lin JS, Evelyn P Whitlock. Oncotype DX tumor gene expression profiling in stage II colon cancer. Application: prognostic, risk prediction. PLoS Curr. 2010 Sep 2;2. pii: RRN1177. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2940137/] [PUBMED]