Dr. Spratt on Growing Role for Genetic Testing in Prostate Cancer

Daniel Eidelberg Spratt, MD, assistant professor, radiation oncology, University of Michigan Health System, discusses genetic testing in prostate cancer.

It is a very exciting time in prostate caner, says Spratt. It is now possible to use biopsies or radical prostatectomy specimens to do genetic tests. There are a variety of tests that are commercially available for use in prostate cancer. As more and more patients undergo these genetic-based tests, we will gain a better understanding of patient’s risk of recurrence or death from the disease, says Spratt.

We are already in an era where more and more patients are going to get genetically tested, he says. In other cancers, including breast cancer there are already tests that helps predict risk or recurrence and response to chemotherapy. If these types of tests could be adapted in prostate cancer it is really going to help personalized treatment for all men with the disease, says Spratt.