Prostate cancer test could reduce overtreatment

The Prolaris cell-cycle progression test could reduce overtreatment of localized prostate cancer, recent data suggest.  

Prolaris is a genomic test developed to help predict prostate cancer aggressiveness, which can be used along with clinical parameters, such as Gleason score and PSA.  

Also see: Long-term PCa surveillance data point to favorable outcomes

Researchers reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria on a study, called EMPATHY-P, in which they used the cell-cycle progression score to assess and stratify prostate cancer aggressiveness in newly diagnosed patients from 26 sites in Europe. They classified prostate cancer aggressiveness according to clinical risk category and then reclassified it by cell-cycle progression score in each category. Finally, they assessed planned treatment patterns in each risk category in relation to the individual clinical risk category, according to the poster. 

Data for each protocol analysis was available for 502 patients, with a median age of 68 years.

NEXT: What they found

According to the study results, overall, the Prolaris test identified 54% of the European men with a risk profile that was different than would be expected using standard clinical pathology.

“Specifically, the… study demonstrated that the Prolaris test score found 24% of European men had less aggressive prostate cancer and 30% of patients had more aggressive disease compared to standard clinical pathology measurements,” according to a press release on the presentation.

The authors, led by Maciej Kwiatkowski, MD, of Kantonsspital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland, concluded that 79 patients had planned interventional treatments, yet their cell-cycle progression scores indicated lower risks. Having the cell-cycle progression score in the decision-making mix might have meant the difference between active surveillance and radical treatment in these cases.

“The Prolaris CCP test may allow for personalized risk stratification independent of Gleason score or PSA, identifying low- and intermediate-risk patients who may be good candidates for active surveillance,” the authors wrote.

Two of Dr. Kwiatkowski’s co-authors are employees of Myriad Genetics, and another has received speaker fees from the company.

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