The gist: New research shows that doctors are willing to base their treatment recommendations on tests that measure gene expression in localized prostate cancer tumors. When a gene is expressed, that means its product, such as a protein, is made. In a cell, not all genes are expressed all the time; they can be switched on and off. Previous research has shown that the pattern of gene expression in a tumor is linked with how aggressive the tumor is. This means that gene expression testing could help predict whether a patient should be heavily treated or whether active surveillance (monitoring without immediate treatment) is a better option. The new research focused on a gene expression analysis approach called cell cycle progression (CCP) testing. The researchers found that doctors were open to using the CCP test to influence their treatment recommendations.
“Biopsy-based cell cycle progression (CCP) gene expression testing can aid in the stratification of patients with localized prostate cancer based on disease aggressiveness. This enhanced stratification method could lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs by guiding treatment selection, specifically the utilization of active surveillance.
“E. David Crawford, MD, presented an evaluation of the economic impact of the CCP assay in localized prostate cancer in a poster session at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO).1 This study suggested that CCP testing could reduce costs by $2,850 per patient over 10 years. Given current health plan sizes, this could translate to over $16 million in savings.
“To gain further insight into the intricacies of these findings, OncLive interviewed Crawford, of the University of Colorado at Denver, on the main takeaway points from the study, which specifically looked at the Prolaris CCP assay.”