18 Mar Prostate Cancer: Vanderbilt Study Evaluates Clinical Usefulness of Polygenic Risk Score

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Mosley

Jonathan Mosley, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Division of Clinical Pharmacology
Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Informatics
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Prostate cancer is an important source of morbidity and mortality among men. Earlier detection of disease is essential to reduce these adverse outcomes. Prostate cancer is heritable, and many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with disease risk have been identified. Thus, there is considerable interest in using tools such as polygenic risk scores, which measure the burden of genetic risk variants an individual carries, to identify men at elevated risk of disease.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  This study found that a polygenic risk score for prostate cancer did not improve risk prediction for clinically significant (high grade) cancers, as compared to a currently available clinical risk calculator (the Prostate Biopsy Collaborative Group [PBCG] risk calculator) that utilizes clinical measures including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: A polygenic risk score for prostate cancer is likely to have minimal added value for identifying prostate cancers with lethal potential, as compared to existing clinical tools. This study also highlights the importance of comparing novel disease predictors against existing clinical tool to determine whether they offer prognostic value beyond clinical practice standards.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response: In developing genetic predictors for prostate cancer, the emphasis needs to be on creating tools that discriminate between high grade and low grade cancers, rather than just the presence and absence of cancer.

No disclosures.

Citation:

Schaffer KR, Shi M, Shelley JP, et al. A Polygenic Risk Score for Prostate Cancer Risk Prediction. JAMA Intern Med. Published online March 06, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.6795

Editorial:
Klein RJ. Bringing Prostate Cancer Polygenic Risk Scores to the Clinic. JAMA Intern Med. Published online March 06, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.6782

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Last Updated on March 18, 2023 by Marie Benz