An illustration · invented records · this source is real
A multigene assay to predict recurrence of tamoxifen-treated, node-negative breast cancer
Paik S, Shak S, Tang G, Kim C, et al. (2004). New England Journal of Medicine. PubMed 15591335 · DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa041588 · PubMed record
What kind of source: Validation study on archived trial tissue (NSABP B-14). Where it sits in the summary: Established. Back to the summary
What it says, in plain language
The paper that first validated the 21-gene score. In women with node-negative, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer treated with tamoxifen, the score sorted patients into groups with clearly different rates of distant recurrence at ten years.
Source access: this note uses the published abstract, linked above. The full article was not available for this review and is not included in the folder.
The exact words we relied on
“The Kaplan-Meier estimates of the rates of distant recurrence at 10 years in the low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk groups were 6.8 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 4.0 to 9.6), 14.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 8.3 to 20.3), and 30.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 23.6 to 37.4).” — PMID:15591335, Abstract, Results
“The recurrence score has been validated as quantifying the likelihood of distant recurrence in tamoxifen-treated patients with node-negative, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer.” — PMID:15591335, Abstract, Conclusions
How these quotes were checked
Follow the passage links above to the included paper or public source record.
Abstract only. The quotes above come from the paper’s published abstract as held in the PubMed record. They were checked by exact string match against the PubMed record cached on 2026-09-08. This note is limited to the abstract; the full article was not read.
Limits of this source
Tamoxifen-era patients; this paper shows the score predicts recurrence risk, not that it predicts who benefits from chemotherapy. Abstract only; full text not retrieved.
Review
Reviewed by Sarah Kiselycznyk · September 10, 2026. Review scope and verification method: How we researched this.