A new molecular test that measures degree of expression of androgen receptors on prostate cancer cells may help physicians predict which tumors are most likely to show clinical progression after surgery, according to a presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Prostate Cancer Symposium.

“We have created a highly sensitive predictive test for prostate cancer, similar to those available for breast cancer, that can be used to predict disease progression and potentially impact its course,” said Michael Donovan, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Aureon Laboratories, Inc., and lead author of the study. “Our data suggest that a high level of androgen receptors in prostate tumors is associated with cancer progression and metastasis.”

In the current study, researchers used a technique called quantitative immunofluorescence to measure androgen receptors and other molecular markers in prostate tissue from 881 men who had undergone radical prostatectomy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1985 and 2003.

They combined the data with clinical variables and image analysis to create a tool for predicting whether a patient’s prostate cancer clinically progress in terms of prostate-specific antigen level or metastatic disease in bone and how quickly, within five years after surgery.

The researchers found that the tool was 84 percent accurate in predicting spread of prostate cancer. The study also found that the risk of disease progression increased with an increasing level of androgen receptors on a single tested prostate cancer cell.

The authors noted that androgen receptor measurement is an important feature in the predictive model, and that preliminary analyses have suggested that degree of expression may play a role in predicting response to hormone therapy.