Dr. Rana on Using Age at Diagnosis to Guide the Utility of Genetic Testing in Prostate Cancer

Huma Q. Rana, MD, MPH, clinical director, Cancer Genetics and Prevention, and assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the use of age at diagnosis to guide the utility of genetic testing in men with prostate cancer.

At the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, findings from the randomized ProGen study showed a high uptake of both genetic counseling and video education and a high completion of genetic testing among men with prostate cancer.

Logistic regression models were performed to determine whether metastatic prostate cancer, age at diagnosis of prostate cancer, Gleason score, or hormone-sensitive prostate cancer were predictive of genetic testing result or BRCA1/2 positive status, says Rana.

Results showed that patients under the age of 65 had a higher likelihood of having any positive genetic testing result (P = .007), explains Rana. Moreover, 15% of patients under the age of 65 had positive genetic findings.

However, 8% of patients 65 years of age or older also had positive test results, says Rana.

As such, age at diagnosis should not be used to determine whether a man with prostate cancer is a good candidate for germline genetic testing, concludes Rana.