Prostate Cancer

Overview

• Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer. Risk factors for prostate cancer include increased age, family history and black race. In early stages, prostate cancer is asymptomatic and is typically detected by screening. Although many prostate cancers are sporadic, about 5-15% of prostate cancer diagnoses may be associated with a strong hereditary component. Genetic testing has found its place in routine testing for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers amongst others, providing actionable preventive measures to increase life expectancy and quality of life.

• Hereditary cancer syndromes are encountered in all medical specialties. Although they account for about 5% of all malignancies, it is of special importance to identify these patients because, unlike patients with sporadic cancers, they require special, long-term care as their predisposition can cause them to develop certain tumors at a relatively early age. Most hereditary cancers are associated with a “germline mutation” that will be present in every cell of the human body. Identification of patients at risk of inherited cancer susceptibility is dependent upon the ability to characterize genes and alterations associated with increased cancer risk as well as gathering a detailed personal and family history aiding in the identification of the mode of inheritance as well as other family members at risk of suffering from this susceptibility. Most hereditary cancer syndromes follow an autosomal dominant inheritance, and the penetrance is high.

• The Igenomix Prostate Cancer Precision Panel provides a comprehensive analysis of the most common genes responsible for the development of a malignant growth in the prostate using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to fully understand the spectrum of relevant lung cancer predisposition genes.

Indication

The Igenomix Comprehensive Inherited Caner Precision Panel is indicated as a screening and diagnostic test in those cases where there are: 

• Family history of prostate cancer
• Blood in the urine
• Frequent urination  
• Urge to urinate
• Pain or burning during urination
• Weak or interrupted urine flow
• Fatique
• Lower back pain
• Change in bowel habits
• Unintentional weight loss

Clinical Utility

The clinical utility of this panel is: 

• The genetic and molecular diagnosis for an accurate clinical diagnosis of a patient with personal or family history suggestive of a hereditary cancer syndrome with predisposition to prostate cancer.
• Early initation of treatment with a multidisciplinary team for appropriate total body screening, early surgical intervention, or pharmacologic treatment. 
• Risk assessment and genetic counselling of asymptomatic family members according to the mode of inheritance. 
• Reduce morbidity related toprostate cancer, or morbidity secondary to complications of surveillance and treatment.
• Categorization of genetic alterations into predictive levels of standard, investigational or hypothetic target therapies in the molecular pathology reports.
• Improved pathways from diagnosis to treatment in susceptible populations.

Genes & Diseases