New prostate cancer test “cuts biopsies by 50%” in US real-world use
Kearney Urology Center has reported a 50% reduction in biopsies since adopting EpiSwitch® PSE, a new accurate blood test for prostate cancer.
The reduction is down to the marked improvement offered by EpiSwitch PSE over the very high number of false positives associated with the standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. There is currently no NHS screening programme in the UK, but at-risk men with signs of the disease may be offered a PSA test as the first method of diagnosis. As many as three quarters of men with a high PSA do not have cancer. This means a significant number of men undergo the pain and potential side effects of unnecessary biopsies.
EpiSwitch PSE increases the accuracy of the PSA test from 55% to 94% and cuts false positives from 75% to just 7%,
Dr. Garrett Pohlman, Urologist at Kearney Urology Center said:
“I cannot imagine running my practice without EpiSwitch PSE; it’s a game changer. EpiSwitch increases the accuracy of the PSA test from 55% to 94% and cuts false positives from 3 in 4 to less than 1 in 10. Since adopting this test, I have cut the number of biopsies in half, allowing men who have tested negative for prostate cancer to avoid the pain and potential side effects of an unnecessary intervention.”
EpiSwitch is the culmination of a ten-year British collaboration between Imperial College, Imperial NHS Trust, University of East Anglia and Oxford Biodynamics, itself a spin off from Oxford University.
It is available privately from Goodbody Clinic and The London Clinic, the private hospital which diagnosed King Charles’ cancer when he was admitted for treatment to his prostate. In the US, the test is reimbursed under its own reimbursement code by several US insurers including Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare and Optum Health.
EpiSwitch PSE is not available on the NHS.
According to a Prostate Cancer Research report: “This (EpiSwitch) test combines the PSA test with a DNA test, resulting in substantially improved accuracy. Additionally, the test is minimally invasive and has the potential to reduce or eliminate the downsides of the PSA test, such as the high rate of false positives. The timing is ideal to explore innovative screening strategies and consider their benefits to patients, their loved ones and society as a whole.”
Mathias Winkler, Consultant Urologist and Surgeon, Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College London said:
“The PSA test turns up very few cases of cancer and huge numbers of men are subjected to MRI scans and biopsies, as well as the worry that goes with that, and then it turns out they don’t have cancer.
"PSE is a diagnostic prostate cancer test with unprecedented accuracy. Nine of 10 cancers are found compared to 3 of 10 with PSA alone. Likewise, false-positive results are reduced avoiding unnecessary anxiety and expense.”
Dr Alexandre Akoulitchev, CSO, Oxford BioDynamics said:
“Having first demonstrated high accuracy of detection of prostate cancer in the NHS PROSTAGRAM trial in the UK, the EpiSwitch PSE test is today undergoing fast adoption in the US, where it is reimbursed by Medicare and other insurers. PSE leads to a significant reduction of biopsies and overtreatments in the real-world practice of US clinics. There is much value in this test, as recognized by clinical and private health-care institutions in both the US and UK today. Extending access to the general public in the UK would be subject to the NHS and National Screening Committee.”
