Prostate Cancer Genetic Testing - Is it real or is it boutique lab work?

January 20, 2009
Prostate Cancer Genetic Testing - Is it real or is it boutique lab work?

Analysis of: Clarient Launches Gene Expression Test for Prostate Cancer (www.medcompare.com)
This analysis is solely the work of the author. It has not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
Author of this analysis
Mitchell Bamberger, MD
Attending Physician, Tri-County Urology

Implications: Genetic testing for clinically significant prostate cancer is vital to allow clinicians to treat patients. This appears to be a step in the right direction, although it does not seem this will have a major impact for the majority of cases. The study represents only a small subgroup of patients that may have some benefit from this new molecular biology test.

Analysis: The vendor implies that cancer below Gleason grade 3 is not clinically significant, which is not accurate. Gleason 3 cancer is a far cry from atypia or low grade cancer, and those patients that have atypia generally do not have Gleason 3 cancer. The high number of cases seen by Johns Hopkins represents a subset of a highly skewed population which is a small percentage compared to the 100K+ patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in the US every year. This is a vital first step in the right direction, but many more baby steps are needed before we will get to where we need to be.