Predicting Tumor Aggressiveness
No two cancers are the same, and it can be difficult to predict which tumors are slow-growing and which are growing quickly. Prognostic tests that look at the level of expression of certain genes in tumors can give you and your healthcare professional additional information about the aggressiveness of your cancer, allowing you to make the most informed decision about your individual treatment plan. Myriad’s Prolaris® for prostate cancer is an example of this type of test.
Aggressiveness of Prostate Cancer
Managing localized prostate cancer presents a unique challenge for healthcare professionals due to the highly variable nature of the disease, which makes it difficult to identify those patients with less aggressive, or indolent cancers, from those that have a more aggressive disease. Current clinical tools, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and Gleason score, provide information on prostate cancer severity, but they do not give an accurate indication of tumor aggressiveness. If you have prostate cancer, learning more about the aggressiveness of your tumor can help you and your healthcare professional make the best treatment decisions for you.*,1,2 Prolaris® has been extensively validated and has been shown to provide the most clinically significant prognostic information at the time of diagnosis.
Prolaris Test
Prognostic tests such as Prolaris can give you and your healthcare professionals accurate information about the aggressiveness of your particular cancer.1-7 These tests analyze the expression of cell proliferation genes in the tumor to measure how fast the cells are dividing. They can be used along with traditional clinical features of cancer progression to determine the risks associated with a patient’s disease, as well as personalize treatment decisions.*
In addition to Prolaris, Myriad is currently investigating prognostic tests for predicting the aggressiveness of other types of cancer.
*Any discussion of medical management options is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation. While genetic testing and medical society guidelines provide important and useful information, all medical management decisions should be made based on consultation between each patient and his or her healthcare professionals.
References
1. Cooperberg MR, et al. Validation of a cell-cycle progression gene panel to improve risk stratification in a contemporary prostatectomy cohort. J Clinical Oncol 2013:31(11):1428-34.
2. Crawford ED, et al. Cell cycle progression score and treatment decisions in prostate cancer: results from an ongoing registry. Curr Med Res Opin 2014 Mar 13 [Epub ahead of print]
3. Freedland SJ, et al. Prognostic utility of cell cycle progression score in men with prostate cancer after primary external beam radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol, Biol, Phys 2013:86(5):848-853.
4. Whitfield ML, et al. Identification of genes periodically expressed in the human cell cycle and their expression in tumors. Mol Biol Cell 2001;13:1977-2000.
5. Cuzick, J, et al. Prognostic value of an RNA expression signature derived from cell cycle proliferation genes in patients with prostate cancer: a retrospective study. Lancet 2011: 245-255.
6. Cuzick, J, et al. Prognostic value of a cell cycle progression signature for prostate cancer death in a conservatively managed needle biopsy cohort. British J Cancer 2012:1-5:1095-1099.
7. Bischoff, JT, et al. Prognostic utility of the CCP score generated from biopsy in men treated with prostatectomy. J. Urology 2014 [Epub ahead of print].