Metastatic Prostate Cancer – Are You in That Category?

By a factor of at least five, the number one question we receive here at PCAP is “what is the likelihood that my prostate cancer will recur?”  And the short answers have always been “it’s difficult to say” or “every man is different.” And both of those answers are true.

There are many variants of prostate cancer and the challenge of determining which prostate cancers need to be treated and which can be followed with active surveillance remains the tantalizing goal, still just out of reach.

But, There’s Hope for Determining which Prostate Cancer Will Return

The science of genomics has been making great strides in the past several years, as I learned when I served on the consumer review panel of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for prostate cancer.

The Decipher® Prostate Cancer Test from GenomeDX Biosciences is now available to the public, although it is a bit pricey at $3,600.00. But this is a cutting edge genetic test that measures 22 biomarkers that are associated with aggressive prostate cancer and calculates the probability of metastasis within 5 years of surgery. Having this information about your particular prostate cancer can play an important role in your future treatment requirements.

Learn more about the company by clicking the image at the right.

Who Can Use the Decipher® Prostate Cancer Test?

The test is for men who undergo prostate cancer surgery.  The test uses a small tissue sample collected during surgery.  Prostate tissue samples normally are archived or stored at the pathology laboratory that does the post-surgery analysis. Men planning to use Decipher should make arrangements to have access to the tissue prior to surgery.

We’ll be posting a checklist for the process of having access to your tissue after surgery. Enter your information below to be notified when we post the checklist.

Yes, please notify me when the Decipher® Prostate Cancer Test checklist is available …