“Over-diagnosis and over-treatment of indolent prostate cancer is a significant health issue,” says Alan Partin, M.D., Ph.D., the Jakurski Family Director, Urologist-in- Chief and Professor of Urology. “With PSA screening, prostate cancers are diagnosed at an earlier stage, but most tumors have a low risk of progression.” A new urine test may be of help here: Partin was part of a multicenter team that validated the test; their results were published in JAMA Oncology.

To validate the test, Partin and investigators at 22 hospitals in the U.S. compared the prognostic score of the test, called ExoIntelliScore Prostate, with biopsy results in more than 1,000 men. They took into account variables such as PSA score, age, race, and a family history of prostate cancer. “We found that the test was able to discriminate high-grade (Gleason score 7 or greater) cancer from low-grade Gleason 6 cancer and benign disease,” says Partin, “and it improves identification of patients with higher-grade prostate cancer among men with elevated PSA.”