Results showed that there was no significant difference in GPS results between men with or without obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus or lower testosterone. These findings support the value of using the test in eligible patients, even if they have these health conditions.

Study of Veterans Finds Oncotype DX GPS Helps Physicians Identify Appropriate Candidates for Active Surveillance while Finding Patients with Higher-risk Prostate Cancer


Active surveillance is a recommended management approach for low-risk prostate cancer, and studies have shown variable rates of active surveillance in the Veterans Administration (VA). This prospective study was conducted to determine treatment patterns in veterans tested with Oncotype DX and those who were not tested to help further standardize the care of early-stage prostate cancer. A retrospective medical chart review of 200 patients at six VA medical centers across the country was compared to treatments from a prospective study of 190 veterans who were offered Oncotype DX at the same centers.

Results showed that use of active surveillance was higher (74 percent) in veterans who received Oncotype DX than in veterans who did not (62 percent), with the largest increase observed in low-risk patients. The use of the test also helped improve risk stratification by identifying 24 patients who had more favorable pathology and 13 patients who had less favorable pathology than would be expected using NCCN criteria alone.

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently granted a five-year contract for Oncotype DX tests to be included in the VA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) as part of cancer management services for patients diagnosed with early-stage breast or prostate cancer. Genomic Health will continue to work with VA hospitals to bring precision medicine to newly diagnosed cancer patients throughout the network of more than 150 centers in the United States.


About the Oncotype DX® Genomic Prostate Score™ (GPS) Designed by Genomic Health based on results from multiple studies led by Cleveland Clinic and the University of California, San Francisco, the Oncotype DX GPS analyzes 17 genes across four biological pathways from tumor tissue removed during biopsy to provide an individual score that, in combination with other clinical factors, further clarifies a man's risk prior to treatment intervention. The test enables confident treatment decisions to provide the opportunity for low-risk patients to avoid prostatectomy or radiation – and their side effects – while identifying men who need immediate invasive treatment.

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