You have to know the odds, or you cannot make a decision!
We know that prostate cancer is on the rise purely because men are living longer.
George Langstaff in 1817 reported the first abnormal prostate gland in a 68 year old man. His description was much like today's understanding of adenocarcinoma of the prostate. He was a rarity.
The first prostate cancer plot-able data point comes from 1973 when 1 in 16 men were being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
From 1973 to 2013 the rate increased by 56% reaching today's lifetime risk of 1 in 5 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The PSA test used today, came onto the medical scene in 1986. The result was that during this same time span which saw increased screening we also witnessed a 45% decline in mortality. Taking a closer look, 30 to 40 % of those men diagnosed with prostate cancer had “Indolent Prostate Cancer” and thus would never have died from the disease if nothing had been done.
So in 2012, because testing data only supported a modest overall improvement in life expectancy, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended reduced screening. Your odds TODAY of being diagnosed with PC, never-the-less, still remain at 1 in 5!
So, what are you to do??
P. A. Pollock, et.al. in Current Oncology, 2-22-2015, wrote an insightful article calling prostate cancer a “chronic disease of aging”. He extrapolated the lifetime risk of prostate cancer into the future and predicted that in 110 years men will have a 1 in 2 lifetime risk of getting PC and in 261 years or in the year 2124 all men will have prostate cancer. (1)
If we look at prostate cancer as a chronic disease of aging in men or better stated….if you’re a man you will get PC, then all we need to do is find a way we can separate the “grain from the chaff” or the "cancer from the elevations" because early detection can be lifesaving. [At least until we have gene therapy to correct the defect in the first place.]
Today we have the 4Kscore Test and NEWS is proud to be able to offer it to men who want to narrow their odds and have a more definitive reason for doing an invasive procedure.
The 4Kscore Test is a blood test that combines 4 prostate biomarkers and clinical information in an algorithm to give you a risk assessment of your potential for prostate cancer.
If your 4Kscore Test is elevated, you need the biopsy.
If it is not elevated, then you can relax and be more trusting of just being monitored.
While Medicare usually pays for this test after a routine PSA returns elevated, coverage depends on your particular insurance company.
For those who do not have insurance, or who choose to pay out-of-pocket, the 4Kscore Test is offered at an affordable price.
Prostate cancer screening is usually recommended in men over 45.
A physician usually will order a Screening Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and do a digital rectal exam (DRE) to evaluate your prostate.
If either or both of these screening tests are abnormal, YESTERDAY the next step would be a diagnostic biopsy to either make or negate a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
TODAY the 4Kscore simple blood test is helping to narrow those odds in finding that 1 aggressive prostate cancer among the 8 indolent PC’s.
What that means is if your 4Kscore is Low-Risk in spite of an elevated PSA, you don't necessarily need to proceed with a biopsy. If instead your PSA is low but your 4Kscore is High-Risk then you need the biopsy.
The strength in the 4Kscore Test result is the determination of RISK of finding an aggressive type of prostate cancer no matter what your PSA level.
Following are two sample reports: Low-Risk Sample Report High-Risk Sample Report
Link to the "4Kscore" website for more information.
