A blood test for certain forms of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and measurement of DNA content in biopsy tissue accurately predict which men with potentially non-lethal prostate cancers may eventually need treatment, say Johns Hopkins scientists.
“Our goal is to develop new biomarkers to select the right patients for the right therapy and know when the therapy should be delivered,” says Robert Veltri, Ph.D., associate professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute, who adds that up to half of prostate cancer patients with low-grade, low-stage disease could safely be monitored rather than treated aggressively.
To make their prediction calculations, Veltri and his colleagues evaluated two tests on 71 men enrolled in a Johns Hopkins Proactive Surveillance program to monitor their small, low-grade cancers, none of which could be felt on physical examination.
Posted in 
Tags: 
