Transcriptomic predictors of prostate cancer recurrence following focal cryotherapy: a pooled analysis of phase II trial and prospective cohort data.

Summary: Prostate cancer can sometimes be treated by freezing just the tumor instead of removing the whole prostate. This is called focal therapy. But for about 1 in 5 men, the cancer comes back within a year. Doctors wanted to know if a genetic test could predict who will do well with this freezing treatment. They looked at 52 men and found that a special genetic test called the Decipher score was very helpful. Men with a high score were more likely to have their cancer return. Men with a low score had much better results. This means doctors can use this genetic test to pick the best patients for freezing therapy!