Prostate cancer can raise questions. Tests can help answer.
It helps doctors move from one-size-fits-all care to personalized treatment plans, like targeted therapy — a type of cancer treatment that targets the ways cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. Even if you get tested and don’t have any biomarkers, that’s ok. It’s still important for getting your care team more informed and can help them evaluate treatment options.
Did you know?
Your treatment plan can be based on your biomarkers.
You may recognize some of these biomarkers from your own chart. There are many biomarkers for prostate cancer. Talk to your doctor about testing to see what they may mean.
About biomarker testing
What are prostate cancer biomarkers?
Cancer biomarkers are small signals in tumor cells, like gene changes or certain levels of proteins, that can show how your cancer behaves and how it may change, grow, or respond to treatment. Even two people with the same type of prostate cancer can have very different biomarkers.
By testing for them, your care team can create an individualized treatment plan — and adjust it if the disease changes over time. As one example, PSA (the most common prostate cancer biomarker) can help identify the care to get ahead of an advancing disease.
Here’s how they’re tested.
Liquid Biopsies
Liquid biopsies analyze traces of prostate cancer found in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and saliva.
Simpler samples, especially urine or blood, can usually be taken at a clinic or your doctor’s office. Since these types of biopsies are typically less invasive, they’re also faster to complete and repeat than a tissue biopsy.
While liquid biopsies can provide similar insights as tissue testing, it still has its limits — the results may not always match tissue biopsies and may miss some cancer changes.
Tissue Biopsies
Tissue biopsies analyze the cells from a small sample of your prostate cancer to understand its stage, subtype, and mutations.
Bits of tissue are removed from the prostate with a needle before a pathologist examines them in a lab. They’ll measure how much your cancer has progressed, check for gene and protein mutations that could point to targeted therapies, and check if immunotherapy may work for you.
Tissue biopsies are usually an outpatient procedure and do not require an overnight stay, however there are more invasive tissue biopsies that may require a hospital visit.
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Talk to your doctor
Your tailored treatment plan really begins with a conversation.
When it comes to treating your prostate cancer, asking about biomarker testing early can make a big impact on your care. Even if this process is unfamiliar, your doctor can help you understand your options and move forward with clarity.
Still have questions?
What biomarkers do doctors look for in prostate cancer?
Some important biomarkers for prostate cancer are PSA, BRCA2, ATM, CHEK2 and BRCA1. BRCA2 tumors account for almost half of all prostate cancer tumors, but there’s also a high prevalence of CDK12 alterations. There are several other biomarkers that your doctor may test for as well.
Where do I go to get tested?
Where you begin biomarker testing will depend on your need for a liquid biopsy or tissue biopsy.
Liquid biopsies analyze traces of prostate cancer found in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and saliva. Simpler, less invasive samples, especially urine or blood, can usually be taken at a clinic or your doctor’s office.
Tissue biopsies analyze the cells from a small sample of your tumor that’s carefully removed with a needle. They’re then sent to a specialized lab for examination. Getting a tissue biopsy for prostate cancer is usually done in an outpatient setting.
What should I understand about my test results?
When you get your test results, your doctor will go over them with you to help you understand what they mean and how they can be used to determine your treatment options. You’ll most likely discuss:
- What biomarkers were found — or if no biomarkers showed up
- What treatment options match those specific biomarkers, and which ones may be available to you
- If there aren’t treatment matches — what potential clinical trials may be available for those biomarkers, or other treatment options
Will I need to get retested?
Depending on how well your current treatment is working, your doctor may want to have you retested for any changes to your disease and the biomarkers that may show up.
Since changes can occur over time, it can reveal the way your tumor is growing or changing, or if it’s developing a resistance to treatment.
New biomarkers can indicate alternative treatment options that may work more effectively.
Are there communities and advocacy groups I can join?
There are many patient advocacy and support groups in the prostate cancer community. Here are a couple to get you started with connecting to other patients and caregivers, as well as resources to support you during your journey: