The commercially available genetic test known as Decipher Prostate RP was evaluated in men participating in the phase III, randomized controlled trial, RTOG 96-01 with the goal of evaluating the test's ability to accurately identify which men with recurrent prostate cancer could best benefit most from anti-androgen hormonal therapy (ADT).
The standard of care often includes the addition of ADT in combination with radiotherapy as treatment for men with localized prostate cancer who experience disease recurrence following surgical removal of their prostate. To determine the efficacy of adding ADT in this setting the RTOG 96-01 trial investigated the treatment of men with radiotherapy alone versus combined radiation and ADT, with a 12-year follow-up.
Upon completion of RTOG 96-01, it was found that the Decipher Prostate RP genomic risk assessment of trial participants demonstrated that Decipher high-risk patients received greater benefit from ADT than Decipher low-risk patients. The study also validated Decipher Prostate RP as an accurate predictor of metastasis, prostate cancer-specific survival, and overall survival in the context of a prospective, randomized controlled trial.
"Identifying which patients with recurrent disease are most likely to benefit from hormonal therapy will improve our ability to extend patient survival, while minimizing unnecessary toxicity for a large group of men with prostate cancer," said Felix Feng, MD, vice chair of radiation oncology at University of California, San Francisco. "Decipher Prostate RP improves upon clinical and pathological risk stratification methods and informs the use of hormonal therapy, making it a reasonable and recommended component of the prostate cancer standard of care."
If you are considering radiotherapy to treat a prostate cancer recurrence, make sure that you ask your doctor about the Decipher Prostate RP genomic risk assessment to evaluate the probability that you might receive additional benefit from adding ADT to the radiotherapy.
