Multigene panels in prostate cancer risk assessment

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Oncology
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel tests are emerging tools for assessing cancer risk.
• Prostate cancer risk assessment is crucial for early detection and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature on the analytic validity, clinical validity, and clinical utility of commercially available SNP panel tests for prostate cancer risk.
• To synthesize and appraise the evidence for these genetic tests.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Embase up to October 2011.
• Development of three Key Questions (KQs) focusing on validity and utility, with expert input.
• Inclusion of 14 studies evaluating 15 SNP panels for prostate cancer risk.

Main Results:

• All included studies focused on clinical validity (KQ2).
• The evaluated SNP panels demonstrated poor discriminative ability for predicting prostate cancer risk.
• Studies had moderate risk of bias, and no panels were evaluated in routine clinical settings.

Conclusions:

• Evidence for analytic validity of current SNP panels is insufficient for meaningful assessment.
• Limited evidence on clinical validity suggests inadequate performance for screening or risk stratification.
• No evidence exists regarding the clinical utility of current SNP panels.