"Prolaris is a genetic test that predicts the aggressiveness of prostate cancer — can accurately identify which men with intermediate- or high-risk disease will benefit from adding androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to standard radiation therapy, a study shows.
This Myriad Genetics’ test was found to be superior to other methods at predicting cancer spread (metastasis) in these patients, and thereby at distinguishing those who could avoid ADT
The findings, “Association of the clinical cell-cycle risk score with metastasis after radiation therapy and identification of men with prostate cancer who can forgo combined androgen deprivation therapy,” were shared in an oral presentation at the 2021 Genitourinary Cancer Symposium, held virtually Feb. 11–13.
“This new data helps distinguish the most appropriate personalized treatment path for each patient based on how their specific tumor is behaving,” Jonathan Tward, MD, PhD, the study’s first author and an associate professor in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Utah, said in a press release.
“For some men, this means being able to avoid overtreating patients with therapies including hormone treatment that can momentously impact their quality of life, while still appropriately treating their prostate cancer,” Tward added.
Todd Cohen, MD, the vice president of Myriad’s medical affairs for urology, said that the company was the first to offer “a test that directly measures the molecular biology of an individual patient’s prostate cancer.”
“This study by Dr. Tward and his team is another strong validation of the prognostic power of the Prolaris test and our ongoing commitment to providing healthcare professionals with the tools needed to determine the most effective treatments and monitoring strategies for each patient,” Cohen added.
Prolaris predicts cancer aggressiveness by analyzing the activity of 46 genes involved in cancer cell proliferation, using tissue collected during a biopsy to confirm a cancer diagnosis or during surgery to remove the prostate.
It then combines this information with the patient’s Gleason score — a measure of prostate cancer aggressiveness based on how cells look under a microscope — and levels of prostate cancer antigen, a biomarker of prostate cancer.
The result is a so-called combined clinical cell-cycle risk (CCR) score, which can be used to better predict the likelihood of prostate cancer progression over 10 years. A more accurate prediction allows for more precise treatment, avoiding excessive treatment that both raises the risk of side effects and care costs."
