BREAKTHROUGH: A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help men decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it. The new test joins another one that recently came on the market. Both analyze multiple genes in a biopsy sample and give a score for aggressiveness, similar to tests used now for certain breast and colon cancers.
PROVIDING ANSWERS: Doctors say such tests can prevent overtreatment, a major problem in cancer care. Prostate tumors usually grow so slowly they will never threaten a man’s life, but some prove fatal and there is no reliable way now to tell which ones will.
ABOUT THE TEST: Genomic Health developed the $3,820 test and says it can save money by avoiding unnecessary treatment. Another test for assessing prostate cancer risk that came out last summer — Prolaris by Myriad Genetics — costs $3,400.