For patients
Test results

Your personalized Breast Recurrence Score® report

You will receive an individualized Recurrence Score® result to help you understand how likely your cancer is to return and whether you may benefit from chemotherapy.1-6
Node-negative
An image showing the node negative Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Report.
Note: This is an example of what a report may look like. You will receive an individualized report based on your tumor tissue sample.
A woman standing next to a card with a test score of 9.
Your score

What does your Breast Recurrence Score mean?

By looking at your breast tumor tissue, the test provides a score on a scale of 0-100. This indicates the chance of your breast cancer returning and the likelihood that you may benefit from chemotherapy.3-5*
*A low Recurrence Score result does not mean there is no chance that your breast cancer will return, and a high Recurrence Score result does not mean that your breast cancer will definitely return. Your treatment decisions still depend on your unique situation and personal preferences.3-5
A doctor talking with a mother and daughter in an exam room.

The question is whether you also need chemotherapy. Your Recurrence Score can help you and your doctor decide.

What a lower Recurrence Score means

The lower the Recurrence Score result, the lower the likelihood of your cancer coming back somewhere else in the body if you take endocrine therapy alone.

As your score increases, the magnitude of chemotherapy benefit also increases.3-5*

A pie chart showing a score of 7 and low potential benefit.

What a higher Recurrence Score means

The higher the Recurrence Score result, the higher the likelihood of your cancer coming back somewhere else in the body if you take endocrine therapy alone.

As your score increases, the magnitude of chemotherapy benefit also increases.3-5*

A pie chart showing a score of 31 and high potential benefit.
A woman standing next to a card with a 3% distance recurrence risk at 9 years.
Your Prognosis

How likely is it that your breast cancer will return?

Your Recurrence Score result provides information on your individualized risk of recurrence - the likelihood that your cancer will return at another site in your body other than the breast. This number is provided as a percentage and reflects your risk if you take hormone therapy alone.4
Node-negative: 9-year risk of distant recurrence (node-negative patients with a RS result of 0-100)

A distant recurrence risk of 8% means out of 100 patients, 8 will have their breast cancer return at another site in their body within 10 years.

A doctor looking at mammogram results with a patient.
A woman standing next to a card with a group average absolute chemotherapy benefit statistic.
Your Prediction

Will chemotherapy help?

The third box provides a percentage that represents the average reduction in recurrence risk if you take chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy which is based upon clinical trial data from other women with your range of Recurrence Score results.3,5
Two women walking down a road smiling and laughing.
Sabrina smiling with a cup of coffee.
Sabrina M.

Getting a second—and third—opinion

“I want people to know that cancer doesn’t always mean a death sentence. We have come so far, and you can take this type of experience and make it better.”

Node-negative invasive breast cancer
Recurrence Score result: 10
Link copied
Sabrina M.

Getting a second - and third - opinion

Node-negative invasive breast cancer
Recurrence Score® result: 10
Sabrina sitting on a couch petting her dog.

Sabrina’s diagnosis

In 2011, Sabrina, a 40-year-old mother of three, emergency room nurse, and active runner, noticed an indentation in one of her breasts. Despite an inconclusive mammogram, she opted for a biopsy, which revealed hormone receptor-positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in her right breast.

Her doctor recommended a mastectomy of the right breast. She chose to do a double mastectomy, which revealed invasive breast cancer in her right breast and Paget’s disease in her left.

Sabrina’s first doctor recommended aggressive chemotherapy based on her age and African American ethnicity. A second doctor also suggested chemotherapy but with a different regimen. Sabrina was confused by the differing opinions but went ahead with a chemotherapy port placement.

Her decision to test

She got a third opinion from an oncologist. This doctor was the first to mention the Oncotype DX® test to possibly avoid chemotherapy. The test, performed on three tissue samples, gave Sabrina a low Recurrence Score result of 10. Based on this result, the oncologist recommended a shorter course of radiation and tamoxifen instead of chemotherapy.

Looking back, Sabrina is proud of her proactive approach during a challenging diagnosis. “This might have been the first real moment where I really stood up for myself and self-advocated,” she says. “The whole experience was life-changing for me. Everybody wanted to give their opinion, but it was really something that I did on my own.”

Her healing path

Sabrina now works as a breast cancer clinical trial navigator, helping patients find suitable clinical trials. She is also on many non-profit boards and is involved with multiple patient advocacy groups.

Sabrina’s message to patients is one of hope and strength. “You'll realize how strong you are and how fleeting life is,” she shares. “You can really come away with a lot of gratitude and a lot more joy in life. With the right mindset, you can use a breast cancer diagnosis to become your better self.”

This story reflects one individual’s experience. Not every person will have the same treatment, experience, or outcome. Talk to your health care provider about whether this test may be right for you.
Node-positive
Note: This is an example of what a report may look like. You will receive an individualized report based on your tumor tissue sample.
A woman standing next to a card with a test score of 16.
Your score

What does your Breast Recurrence Score mean?

By looking at your breast tumor tissue, the test provides a score on a scale of 0-100. This indicates the chance of your breast cancer returning and the likelihood that you may benefit from chemotherapy.1,2,6*
*A low Recurrence Score result does not mean there is no chance that your breast cancer will return, and a high Recurrence Score result does not mean that your breast cancer will definitely return. Your treatment decisions still depend on your unique situation and personal preferences.
A doctor talking to a husband and wife in an exam room.

The question is whether you also need chemotherapy. Your Recurrence Score can help you and your doctor decide.

What a lower Recurrence Score means

The lower the Recurrence Score result, the lower the likelihood of your cancer coming back somewhere else in the body if you take endocrine therapy alone.

As your score increases, the magnitude of chemotherapy benefit also increases.1,2,6*

A pie chart showing a test score of 12.

What a higher Recurrence Score means

The higher the Recurrence Score result, the higher the likelihood of your cancer coming back somewhere else in the body if you take endocrine therapy alone.

As your score increases, the magnitude of chemotherapy benefit also increases.1,2,6*

A pie chart showing a test score of 31.
A woman standing next to a card with a 6% distance recurrence risk at 5 years.
Your Prognosis

How likely is your breast cancer to return?

Your Recurrence Score® result provides information on your individualized risk of recurrence – the likelihood that your cancer will return at another site in your body other than the breast.2 The results of the middle box on your report vary depending on your score and menopausal status. For some women, this number also includes the risk of mortality.1,2
A doctor speaking with a patient seated on an exam table.

5-year risk of distant recurrence2

  • Premenopausal patients with a Recurrence Score result of 0-1001,2,6
  • Postmenopausal patients with a Recurrence Score result of 0-251,2,6
A woman speaking with a couple seated on a couch.

5-year risk of distant recurrence or mortality2

  • Postmenopausal patients with a Recurrence Score result of 26-1001,2
A woman standing next to a card with a group average absolute chemotherapy benefit statistic.
Your Prediction

Will chemotherapy help?

The third box provides a percentage that represents the average reduction in recurrence risk if you take chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy which is based upon clinical trial data from other women with your range of Recurrence Score results.1,6
A nurse explaining a medication to a patient.
Nina

The decision to forgo chemotherapy

Nina feels fortunate that her cancer was caught early, and that she was able to benefit from a genomic test that put her on a much simpler medical path.

Node-positive invasive breast cancer
Recurrence Score result: 21
Link copied
Nina

The decision to forgo chemotherapy

Node-positive invasive breast cancer
Recurrence Score® result: 21
Nina playing the electronic piano.

Nina's diagnosis

Nina is a retired fourth-grade math and science teacher and an avid sports card collector who enjoys sketching, journaling, and spending time at the farmhouse with her family and friends. As a former teacher, Nina is devoted to education and helping others reach their potential.

During her career teaching, Nina worked to continuously improve the lives of her students by encouraging them to be “young mathematicians”. Nina’s approach to teaching was innovative, collaborative, and compassionate.

It was a shock to her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2021, at the age of 64. Prior to her diagnosis, Nina did not have any physical symptoms or signs of breast cancer and there was no history of breast cancer in her family. It was when her new PCP recommended that she schedule a mammogram that her diagnosis journey began.

The initial mammogram came back questionable, which is when her health care providers conducted another mammogram, a sonogram, and a biopsy leading to her eventual diagnosis of early-stage, invasive breast cancer.

Her decision to test

Following a lumpectomy during which three of her lymph nodes were removed (including one that was found to contain cancer cells), her doctor recommended using the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score® test to help determine whether she may not benefit from chemotherapy. Nina’s Recurrence Score result was 21, indicating that she may not benefit from chemotherapy and could proceed with hormone-blocking therapy and radiation. Nina was overcome with emotion.

Nina feels fortunate that her cancer was caught early, and that she was able to benefit from a genomic test that put her on a much simpler medical path.

Based on her personal experience and background as an educator, she is now compelled to share her story to help others facing a cancer diagnosis. She encourages those who have recently been diagnosed with cancer to learn as much as possible from their health care providers, in order to make more informed decisions about their treatment.

This story reflects one individual’s experience. Not every person will have the same treatment, experience, or outcome. Talk to your health care provider about whether this test may be right for you.

Have questions?

Call us at 1 866-662-6897.

References

  1. Albain KS, Barlow WE, Shak S, et al. Prognostic and predictive value of the 21-gene recurrence score assay in postmenopausal women with node-positive, oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer on chemotherapy: a retrospective analysis of a randomised trial. Lancet Oncol. 2010;11(1):55-65. 
  2. Dowsett M, Cuzick J, Wale C, et al. Prediction of risk of distant recurrence using the 21-gene recurrence score in node-negative and node-positive postmenopausal patients with breast cancer treated with anastrozole or tamoxifen: a TransATAC study. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28(11):1829-1834.
  3. Paik S, Tang G, Shak S, et al. Gene expression and benefit of chemotherapy in women with node-negative, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24(23):3726-3734.  
  4. Paik S, Shak S, Tang G, et al. A multigene assay to predict recurrence of tamoxifen-treated, node-negative breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(27):2817-2826.
  5. Sparano JA, Crager M, Gray RJ, et al. Clinical and genomic risk for late breast cancer recurrence and survival. NEJM Evid. 2024;3(8):EVIDoa2300267.
  6. Kalinsky K, Barlow WE, Gralow JR, et al. 21-gene assay to inform chemotherapy benefit in node-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2021;385(25):2336-2347.

Oncotype DX, Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score, Breast Recurrence Score, and Recurrence Score are registered trademarks of Genomic Health, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Exact Sciences Corporation. Exact Sciences is a registered trademark of Exact Sciences Corporation. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

The Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test was developed, and the performance characteristics validated by Genomic Health, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Exact Sciences Corporation following College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations. The Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test is performed at the Genomic Health Redwood City clinical laboratory. Exact Sciences clinical laboratories are accredited by CAP, certified under CLIA regulations, and qualified to perform high-complexity clinical laboratory testing. This test has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or other notified regulatory authority.