Oncology

One in seven men in Canada will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. The third leading cause of cancer death, when prostate cancer is detected early, the more likely it can be successfully treated. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced within the prostate gland. Measuring PSA levels can be a useful tool in diagnosing prostate cancer as well as:

• predicting a prognosis (outcome) for prostate cancer
• predicting if cancer has spread outside the prostate
• planning treatment for prostate cancer
• monitoring you if you are already being treated for prostate cancer
• determining if cancer treatments are working
• determining if cancer has come back after treatment

Personalized Risk Assessment of Prostate Cancer

Learning you have elevated PSA can be alarming news, however, it does not necessarily mean you have clinically significant disease and require a biopsy or treatment. There are many reasons why PSA levels fluctuate, and higher levels may indicate the presence of prostate cancer or other prostate conditions.

SelectMDx is a urine test that measures two cancer-related genetic biomarkers, HOXC6 and DLX1. Combined with other clinical factors like total PSA and age, the test produces a likelihood score of discovering aggressive prostate cancer upon biopsy. This provides your urologist with another important piece of information to consider when recommending whether a biopsy is required and potentially avoid unnecessary procedures.