Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator
There is a new web-based tool that can help men over the age of 55 calculate their risk of having prostate cancer by biopsy.
Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, the University of Colorado, and the NCI created a statistical model to determine a man's risk of having prostate cancer based on age, race, family history of prostate cancer, PSA level, digital rectal exam result, and previous biopsy results.
I think this is a nice tool for patients and physicians alike.
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Comments
Are you familiar with the PCA3 tests that have much higher specificity than the PSA test? There are two labs now making it commercially available as an ASR. Gen-Probe will be filing a PMA with the FDA.
As a urologist, do you feel that this will be useful to your practice? Are you concerned that your practice could be financially harmed by lower frequency of biopsies?
Posted by: Alan Brochstein | June 1, 2006 12:05 PM
I have used the PCA3 test before.
It is a test that looks for dna changes associated with prostate cancer. It requires a rectal exam followed by the collection of urine.
As the previous comment stated, it is more specific. The problem with the test is it is not specific enough. For example, I had a patient with a slightly high PSA that had the PCA3 test done. It was negative and the other urologist didn't perform a biopsy.
My partner saw the patient, biopsied him, and found cancer.
I only use the test if someone had a negative biopsy and now has an elevated PSA. If the test is negative, I may observe him instead of performing a 2nd biopsy.
A partner of mine has used it in patients with a strong family history and a normal PSA. He has found cancer in several of these patients.
Posted by: Domenico Savatta, MD | June 1, 2006 9:28 PM