The Indian arm of the US-based Quest Diagnostics will now provide 20 tests for breast cancer detection in the country. The tests are being offered to the physicians in India to allow early detection of breast cancer.

The 20 tests for breast cancer alone help to establish diagnosis, help guide appropriate care, monitor response, and predict recurrence and overall survival. Quest Diagnostics offers a complete package of testing options previously unavailable to women in India.

The average incidence rate varies from 22-28 per 100,000 women per year in urban settings to 6 per 100,000 women per year in rural areas. On the occasion of the World Breast Cancer day being observed on September 27, Quest is keen to ensure early diagnosis for better treatment success.

India is an important market for Quest primarily because of the growing number cases being detected for the dreaded disease. The tests are validated according to the standards, maintained at its labs in the US and Europe, Dr PK Menon, medical director, Quest Diagnostics India told Pharmabiz.

The test menu for breast cancer includes serum-based HER2 used to predict response to therapy and monitor therapeutic response, Breast Cancer Gene Expression Ratio to predict breast cancer recurrence and CellSearch predicts the progression-free and overall survival in patients with metastatic disease.

Women with breast cancer face many important decisions, beginning with the selection of therapy. Quest Diagnostics has been a pioneer in offering such tests to identify estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2/neu. Our HER2/neu testing follows the stringent guidelines established by ASCO and CAP. Patients will be put on hormonal therapy and Herceptin chemotherapy based on the results of these tests. The test to detect micrometastasis in Lymph Nodes predicts the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

With the price list of tests being made available to the physicians, patients will be recommended for the tests based on their affordability, said Dr Menon.

Back in the US too, Quest is the first commercial laboratory to offer a cornucopia of tests for breast cancer detection, including the common estrogen and progesterone receptor assays.

For the India market, Quest has a dual strategy of technology and education. Through the 'Health Insights' programme it will raise the awareness among physicians and specialists about the availability of the novel diagnostic technologies.

After educating physicians about the value and availability of these tests, we expect that many of these experts will recommend the same, stated Dr Menon.