Colleen A. Lawton, MD

“This is very exciting work and is exactly what we need in prostate cancer,” said Colleen A. Lawton, MD, Vice-Chair of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and moderator of a press conference where the study by Spratt et al was discussed. “The prognostic measures we use are rough and imperfect, such as [prostate-specific antigen] levels, Gleason score, tumor biopsy, and digital rectal exam. This study is going in the direction we need—understanding the genes involved in the disease and how they interact. I can’t wait to see these data incorporated in our NRG Oncology clinical trials.”

She continued: “Once we have this information, we are going to treat differently. This is tapping into information we did not have before. For example, a low-risk patient under active surveillance might actually be at higher risk genomically, and if so, should receive treatment. An intermediate-risk patient with favorable genomics may only need monitoring.”

Dr. Lawton concluded: “The future looks bright.” ■

Disclosure: Dr. Lawton reported no potential conflicts of interest.