DECIPHER risk

[Jmr11820]

Does anyone know, do DECIPHER post prostatectomy results assessing metastatic and PCSM risk reflect the prostatectomy treatment or do those numbers assess the risk of the tumor tissue without regard to treatment? In other words, are those the risk numbers as if I had done nothing in terms of treatment?

[JRPnSD]

As I understand it, the test results are done on the materials removed from Prostatectomy...so therefore would have to take the procedure into consideration. At least that was how I interpreted my results.

[Tall_Allen]

Decipher is based on a large group of men whose prostate tissue had certain genomic characteristics. They found that a certain genomic profile was correlated with metastases post-prostatectomy. It is only valid for men who've had a prostatectomy.

They have another test on biopsy core data that is useful for men on the fence about active surveillance.

[Jmr11820 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks for that Allen. I had the post prostatectomy test from DECIPHER. The sample they originally received from my prostatectomy did not contain enough tumor to do a proper analysis, so they told me. So they ended up doing my DECIPHER test on a sample from my original biopsy. Ultimately, my question was regarding their risk analysis and how the prostatectomy itself. as treatment, played into those numbers. If I hadn’t had surgery, or any treatment, would my risk of metastasis be the same at 5 years left untreated, or do they consider the benefit of the treatment (surgery)? Am I making sense?

[Tall_Allen in reply to Jmr11820]

They can only quote probabilities based on the data they collected in the past. On the biopsy sample, they are telling you the probability that men who are currently pre-treatment will eventually be diagnosed with metastases. Most of those men will have had treatment(s) before metastases are detected.

[Jmr11820 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks again. Your answers are always substantive.