Jeremy Lieb, MD, Urologist, Pacific Urology Medical Group, explains that 50% of men with low risk prostate cancer are eligible for active surveillance, yet 9 out of 10 these men choose to have some form of treatment. He discusses the risks of pursuing aggressive treatment as well as the benefits of a new genetic test called The Prolaris Test, which is a genetic test that is run on a patient’s individual prostate cancer cells and helps gauge how aggressive the cancer is.

2 Big Risks of Aggressive Treatment

1) Loss of urinary control

2) Decrease in sexual function

Traditional Tools for Prostate Cancer Assessment

1) PSA blood test

2) Prostate exam

3) Prostate biopsy

4) The Prolaris Test can be used in addition to PSA blood test, the exam information, and the biopsy information to gauge how aggressive the cancer is.

Resources and References:

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01954004?term=prolaris&rank=1

http://pacificurology.com/about/urologists/lieb/