CARG-Breast Cancer (CARG-BC) Chemo-Toxicity Tool Results

Health & Wellness

What Does Your CARG–BC Score Mean?

The CARG–BC score estimates the risk of severe (grade 3–5) chemotherapy side effects in women aged 65 years and older receiving chemotherapy for early–stage breast cancer.

Patient Total Risk Score

Patient Risk Category

Next step
Care-team review

A higher score indicates a greater likelihood of severe treatment-related side effects. Discuss this result with your care team when considering the benefits and risks of chemotherapy.

The score supports–but does not replace–clinical judgment. Treatment decisions should also consider expected benefits, treatment goals, overall health, and patient preferences.

Risk Category

Risk category	Score	Patients with grade 3–5 toxicity
Low	0 – 5	27%
Intermediate	6 – 11	45%
High	12 or higher	76%

Your risk category

How to Use This Result

Association of the CARG–BC score with the proportion of patients observed to have grade 3–5 chemotherapy toxicity (A), hospitalizations (B), dose reductions (C), dose delays (D), early treatment discontinuation (E), and reduced relative dose intensity (F) as observed in the overall cohort.

Important

This tool estimates chemotherapy toxicity risk–not cancer recurrence or survival.
A higher score does not mean chemotherapy should be avoided.
Women at higher risk may benefit from closer monitoring, supportive care, or treatment adjustments.

Reference: Magnuson A, Sedrak MS, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2021;39(6):608–618. doi: 10.1200/JCO.20.02063

Last Updated on September 21, 2026