Improving precision matters in prostate cancer 

 

Understanding the risk of prostate cancer is very important for men ages 40 and older. Myriad Genetics created this infographic to answer a person’s four most pressing questions about prostate cancer. What are your risks of prostate cancer? Do you have prostate cancer? How aggressive is your prostate cancer? How should you be Prolaris infographictreating your prostate cancer?

Prostate Cancer is diagnosed with 1 in 7 men. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in men in the U.S., behind skin cancer, which consequently makes this cancer very relevant.  The American cancer society estimates about 161,000 men will be newly diagnosed with Prostate cancer in 2017. Sadly, about 27,000 men will die from this preventable and treatable (if detected early) disease. Prostate cancer mainly develops in men that are older. Roughly 60% of men diagnosed are at the ages of 65 or older — at an average age of 66. And this cancer is extremely rare for men below the age of 40.

This cancer only occurs in men and as a result, it is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in men, ranked only behind lung and colon cancer. This disease is very serious. But most of all, men that are diagnosed will not die from prostate cancer, but from other causes of death. Most noteworthy, the majority of men will die with prostate cancer, but not because prostate cancer. According to Cancer.org, more than 2.9 million men in the U.S. have been currently diagnosed with this disease and are still living with it.

Determining treatment options through genetic testing

One of the methods that can help with survival and conclusion of treatment options is genetic testing. The Prolaris Test from Myriad Genetics measures the aggressiveness of prostate cancer for men that have been diagnosed. Getting a Prolaris score will give both the physician and patient additional information on the aggressiveness of the cancer. Therefore, helps provide more information to aid in the decisions for treatment options. See more by clicking this infographic to the right.

For more information on Myriad Genetics Prolaris test, click here: prolaris.com