According to a recent study, a new molecular test from bioTheranostics, the Prostate Cancer Index, is a strong predictor of prostate cancer recurrence and may improve upon the current standard of care for assessing risk of recurrence and metastasis in patients with prostate cancer. The study was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Prostate Cancer Index (PCI), currently in development, is a 32-gene signature designed to predict prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence. In the study, conducted in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, the PCI was validated in an independent, blinded set of 270 radical prostatectomy tumor samples. Results showed that the PCI was prognostic for risk of PSA recurrence and had added value over standard clinical prognostic markers such as Gleason score, pathologic tumor stage, surgical margin status, and pre-surgery PSA levels (P = 0.0057).
It also showed that the PCI could stratify patients based on the risk of PSA recurrence and the development of metastatic disease. The categories defined by the index significantly stratified patients based on risk of metastasis: the 10-year probability of metastasis was 14% in the high-risk group and 0% in the low-risk group (P = 0.0006).
bioTheranostics CEO Richard Ding says the study, which strongly supports the use of PCI as a prognostic molecular marker for prostate cancer recurrence, “may help physicians make postoperative treatment selections and also may impact decision making at the biopsy stage.” Read the study abstract.
