[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] A study has found that the risk of recurrence—the primary concern for patients after breast cancer surgery—can be accurately predicted using genetic information alone.

Gencurix Inc.(229000)announced on the 15th that research findings related to its breast cancer prognostic diagnostic test, “GenesWell BCT,” were published in the international academic journal *Frontiers in Oncology*.
This study was conducted on patients with early-stage estrogen receptor-positive (ER+)/HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer to evaluate whether the “BCT Gene Score”—composed solely of gene expression data—has prognostic predictive power independent of clinical and pathological information.
The existing “BCT Score” has analyzed the risk of recurrence by incorporating clinical information—such as tumor size and lymph node metastasis—in addition to gene expression data. In contrast, this study confirmed that the risk of cancer recurrence can be predicted using only genetic information, without clinical variables.
The study was conducted at five institutions—Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Korea University Guro Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, and the National Cancer Center—and included 759 patients with early-stage ER+/HER2- breast cancer. The analysis revealed that the BCT Gene Score was significantly associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor even in multivariate analyses adjusted for age, tumor size, histological grade, and lymph node status.
In particular, the high-risk group had a significantly poorer prognosis compared to the low-risk group, and the risk of recurrence tended to increase with higher scores.
The study also suggested that combining the BCT Gene Score with the existing BCT Score could further improve prognostic accuracy. The best prognosis was observed when both scores classified a patient as low-risk, while the worst prognosis was seen when both scores classified a patient as high-risk. The research team explained that this demonstrates how an approach that utilizes genetic and clinical information separately and complementarily can aid in treatment decision-making.
Furthermore, meaningful results were obtained in a comparison with the 21-gene test (OncoType DX), a global standard. Some patients classified as low-risk by the OncoType DX test were identified as high-risk according to the BCT Gene Score, and these patients had a lower recurrence-free survival rate.
Han Jin-il, Director of the R&D Division at Gencurix Inc., stated, “This study demonstrates that GenSwell BCT has the scalability to comprehensively interpret both genetic-based and clinical-based risk factors,” adding, “We will continue to accumulate clinical evidence to contribute to the realization of precision medicine.”