Criteria for genetic testing of men with prostate cancer misses those with mutations who could be treated

Men with prostate cancer who were not eligible for germline (hereditary) genetic testing were just as likely to carry pathogenic variants that could be treated as men who were eligible for this testing, according to a new study funded by a genetics testing company.

And men who identified as non-White (mainly Black) men who did not qualify for testing had more of these pathogenic variants than non-White men who did qualify, suggesting that the criteria for genetic testing is exacerbgating care disparities.

Overall, 77 pathogenic gene variants in 17 genes were identified in 7.7 percent of the 958 men tested.

See “Clinical Trial Shows Benefit of Pathogenic Germline Variant Testing for All Prostate Cancer Patients” by Chris Anderson on the Inside Precision Medicine website (August 15 2023)

See the full text of the scientific paper “Efficacy of National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines in Identifying Pathogenic Germline Variants Among Unselected Patients with Prostate Cancer: The PROCLAIM Trial” by Neal Shore et al.