Genomic Test Identifies Prostate Cancer Patients Benefiting From Abiraterone
A specialized genomic test predicts which men with very high-risk nonmetastatic prostate cancer will benefit from adding abiraterone to their standard androgen deprivation therapy. Researchers presented the findings from a Phase III STAMPEDE trial analysis at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2026, offering a method to balance survival benefits against treatment side effects.
Common measures of kidney function largely underestimate chronic kidney disease prevalence in cancer patients, according to related research presented at ASN Kidney Week 2026. The findings highlight persistent clinical challenges in accurately assessing organ function and personalizing therapies across oncology.
Clinical Evaluation of the Decipher Prostate Genomic Classifier
The University College London team evaluated Veracyte’s Decipher tissue-based molecular test across a real-world dataset of 27,607 men and a trial cohort of 401 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer. Higher test scores consistently correlated with poorer clinical trajectories across the datasets. For every 0.1-unit increase in the genomic score, the risk of distant metastasis rose with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.49, while the risk of prostate cancer mortality increased with a hazard ratio of 1.38.
For men with very high-risk prostate cancer, preventing the cancer from spreading is critical, and understanding who benefits most from additional treatment can make a meaningful difference,
Sarah Howlett, lead researcher at the UCL Cancer Institute, said in a release. Howlett noted that men with high-risk disease but a low Decipher score exhibit low rates of cancer spread and could potentially avoid intensive treatment, whereas men with high scores can be prioritized for it.
Standard prostate cancer treatment in the UK centers on androgen deprivation therapy. While the STAMPEDE trial established that adding abiraterone halves the risk of death and slows disease progression in high-risk localized cases, clinical responses across broader studies vary.
Market Response and Stock Movements in Health Sector Equities
We believe this growing evidence gives physicians a stronger reason to use Decipher before making decisions that can affect both cancer outcomes and patients’ quality of life,
said Elai Davicioni, medical director of urology at Veracyte, in a release. Further validation of the test remains underway in ongoing trials such as NRG-GU009 (PREDICT-RT).
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