Oncotype DX® colon cancer assay for prediction of recurrence risk in patients with stage II and III colon cancer: A review of the evidence

• Surgeons need to address prognosis and post-operative treatments in colon cancer.
• Assessing disease recurrence risk allows discrimination of treatment benefits.
• Oncotype DX® colon cancer assay quantitates disease recurrence risk.
• It can help in decisions about oxaliplatin and/or 5-FU based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Advances in molecular biology have enabled identification of tumor biomarkers that allow for individualized risk assessment for patients with cancer. Molecular predictors of clinical outcome can help inform discussion regarding the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resected colon cancer, such as those with stage II colon cancer in which the benefit of adjuvant therapy is controversial or those with stage III colon cancer who may have a lower risk of recurrence and less absolute benefit from oxaliplatin therapy. This article summarizes the data surrounding the development, validation, and clinical and economic utility of the Oncotype DX® colon cancer assay, a multigene expression assay validated to independently predict recurrence risk in patients with stage II and III colon cancer beyond traditional factors.