An Overview of the Prostate Px+ Test for a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
As a urologist in the Plano, Frisco and Dallas, Texas area, Dr. Mark Allen of North Texas Urology Associates has had the task of delivering unwelcome news to patients more times than he would like. The words, “you have prostate cancer” is never easy for a patient to hear. If you are one of the 200,000 Americans who receive a prostate cancer diagnosis this year, then you probably already have your clinical information memorized. You can spout off your PSA level, Gleason score and prostate cancer stage without the blink of an eye. While these tests, historically, have been sufficient in classifying cancer stages for patients, missing variables often exist that may alter the effectiveness of staging during diagnosis. This is why the prostate Px+ test is so important.
A Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Today, more than 85% of patients that receive a prostate cancer diagnosis will be considered in the low or intermediate risk category purely because they have similar clinical information. The conflict in using this clinical information alone to treat and manage a person’s cancer and to determine prostate cancer stages has been a topic of discussion in recent years. From a purely clinical perspective, patients can often appear the same, when in fact they will have very different outcomes. One patient might have a slow growing cancer that will never be a problem and the second patient might have an aggressive cancer.
What is the Prostate Px+ Test?
The current challenge in predicting individual patient risk is complicated by the multiple variables that must be considered, as well as the applicability and accuracy of available predictive tools and tests. Prostate Px+ testing, a new prostate cancer test developed by Aureon, was created with these challenges in mind and is currently being adopted into urology offices like Dr. Allen’s in Plano, Texas. As a new option for physicians, this state-of-the-art test is being used to better assess the prostate cancer within each patient so that prostate cancer stages and a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan can be offered.
Prostate Px+ testing is a prostate cancer test that is ordered at diagnosis to provide physicians with objective and useful information. Unlike other tests, it uses a combination of cellular, molecular and clinical data with advanced mathematical analysis, to assist doctors in properly identifying low risk vs. high-risk patients. Prostate Px+ is based on patented technology and is the only test that combines multiple layers of data based on the patient’s tissue to provide an idea of the outcome post-therapy. In essence, when someone asks, “What is your prognosis?” a more accurate answer can be given.
Once prostate cancer has been found in a patient, a physician can order the test and use the same sample that was provided for the original biopsy. The test, which is currently only available in the United States, is analyzed and a personalized report is sent to the physician to be used for patient discussion within about five days. One of the items that will be provided back to the physician is a prostate disease Progression Score that will rank between 0-100. This number reflects the likelihood of the patient developing disease progression (defined as bone/soft tissue metastases, death of disease and/or androgen independent rise in PSA within eight years of their diagnosis.
A Personalized, More Accurate Approach in Prostate Cancer Tests
Prostate Px+ provides personalized test results by analyzing a patient’s existing biopsy sample using molecular diagnostics, sophisticated tissue-based image analysis and advanced mathematics. The resulting information gathered from this multi-layered approach provides both the patient and physician with objective, predictive and personalized information that enables all parties to make more-informed treatment decisions.
Prior to treatment selection, Prostate Px+:
- Provides useful, objective information for anyone considering surgery as a treatment option
- Predicts serious disease progression (metastasis, death of disease, progression through androgen deprivation therapy)
- Accurately reclassifies all intermediate-risk patients as either high- or low-risk
- Reveals high-risk disease, originally masked as low-risk at diagnosis
- Predicts your tissue pathology results after surgery
- Helps alleviate patient anxiety by providing objective information about a patient’s cancer
A prostate cancer diagnosis does not mean the end to a fulfilling and active life. If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer but have not yet selected treatment, you are looking for as much information as possible to better understand your disease and your options. In prostate cancer, there is no one-size-fits-all. Understanding the multiple issues and challenges will help you take control of your individual health needs.
For more information on the Prostate Px+ test, or if you would like to discuss your prostate cancer diagnosis with a urology specialist, please contact the Plano, Frisco and Dallas, Texas area office of Dr. Mark Allen.
