A lot of anxiety surrounds the discussion of the post-operative pathology. Telling patients that everything is clear, followed by informing them that we still have to regularly check serum PSA for possible cancer recurrence can be confusing. "Am I cured, or not?"
Conversely, an outcome such as a positive margin doesn't have to be linked as a failure. Many patients will do fine in such a scenario. Wouldn't it be nice if you could help patients understand their situation and options better? Giving a grade of 1-100 for risk of recurrence could better help patients understand their prognosis.
From Aureon's website:
Post-Op Px® is a unique prognostic test, designed to provide patients and their physicians with more information as they make decisions about treatment options. Post-Op Px assesses patients as high or low risk for PSA recurrence as well as serious disease progression.
Post-Op Px endpoints predict:
PSA Recurrence: a biochemical recurrence within five years after surgery
Disease Progression: evidence of bone/soft tissue metastasis, progression through hormonal therapy) within five years after surgery
Post-Op Px utilizes a patented systems pathology approach to analyze prostatectomy tissue by combining cellular, molecular and clinical information to provide a thorough and more accurate reflection of each patient’s individual risk. Aureon’s Post-Op Px is based on data from a cohort of 758 patients and is supported by peer-reviewed research papers in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In addition, Aureon recently presented new clinical information on Post-Op Px at the International Robotic Urology Symposium (IRUS).
Post-Op Px benefits post-prostatectomy patients by:
More accurately predicting disease progression post-prostatectomy, compared to histology-based high-risk features such as extracapsular extension, or positive surgical margins
Identifying patients who are at high risk for disease progression and who may benefit from early adjuvant therapies
Helping alleviate patient anxiety caused by high risk, post-surgical features (e.g. positive surgical margins)
Assisting with patient selection for future randomized clinical trials
