Research Areas: Prostate Cancer

Correlogic is currently conducting two concurrent studies with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. These studies, involving up to 2,000 men, will expand research on the use of Correlogic’s approach and technology to detect prostate cancer, and separately, examine whether they can be extended to distinguish between indolent and aggressive prostate cancer.

The first study will expand Correlogic’s research on the use of its “Hidden Patterns” approach and ProteomeDx^® pattern recognition technology to the detection of prostate cancer. The current prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is most accurate for men whose PSA levels are outside the 2.5-10 ng/ml range. Men whose PSA levels are within the 2.5-10 ng/ml “gray zone” frequently undergo prostate biopsies, though approximately 75 percent are ultimately determined not to have prostate cancer. For these men a blood test that is a more accurate indicator could reduce the need for painful, invasive and costly procedures.

The second study will center on men undergoing radical prostatectomies to determine whether Correlogic’s approach and technology can be extended to distinguish between indolent and aggressive prostate cancer. Because most cases of prostate cancer are slow-growing, and life quality effects of prostate cancer treatment can be a concern, distinguishing whether a prostate cancer is aggressive is highly important in determining the extent or necessity of treatment. Currently there is no effective prospective test for determining the aggressiveness of prostate cancer in most men.

The goal of these studies is to validate and refine the ProstaCheck^® blood tests that can more effectively identify prostate cancer, and help determine the appropriate course of treatment.

In earlier research, Correlogic demonstrated the successful application of its “Hidden Patterns” approach and pattern recognition technology to the detection of prostate cancer. In a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute (October 16, 2002), Correlogic scientists, together with scientists from NCI/FDA and the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, were able to detect prostate cancer with twice the accuracy of the PSA test. Significantly, researchers were also able to rule out prostate cancer for 71 percent of men whose PSA test results typically would have indicated a biopsy. Read the press release.

Correlogic's further prostate cancer research was published in the October 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Urology. Applying Correlogic's technology to the serum of men with elevated PSA, the team of Correlogic, NCI/FDA and other scientists successfully discriminated between men with benign processes and men with prostate cancer. This included men with PSA within the diagnostic gray zone.

About Prostate Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates over 186,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008. About 29,000 men will die of prostate cancer this year. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among men in the U.S., and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetimes.