Skip to Content

For Doctors

Why screen given the risks?

The American Urological Association recommends men begin PSA screening at age 40 for the earliest detection of progressing cancerCancer that is progressing at a fast rate and is life-threatening., and encourages informed decisions about PSA screening by older men or ones with a short life expectancy.  But some doctors and analysts debate whether the benefits of simple PSA screening offset the associated risks of unwarranted biopsies and overtreatment. 

PSA screening leads to early treatment, which can save lives. Screening smartly leads to early treatment when warranted, and reduces unwarranted biopsies and over treatment with all of the associated side effects and risks. Because Soar compares a range of  personal health factors with leading research results, you can tip the benefits of the PSA test in your patient's favor and reduce the risk of unwarranted biopsies and over-treatment while retaining the benefits of early detection and treatment.

Joint research with leading medical centers

Soar conducts joint research with leading medical centers.  We've worked with Duke, University of California at San Francisco and doctors from University of California at Los Angeles, Stanford, Alabama and Georgia as part of the Veteran's Administration SEARCH Database group.

Bring best practices to your patients

Currently, too many biopsies are ordered as soon as a patient’s PSA reaches a level of 4.0.  As a result, 75% of prostateA donut-shaped gland the size and shape of a walnut that surrounds the upper portion of the male urethra. Its main function is to produce part of the fluid that makes up semen. biopsies in the U.S. actually fail to find cancer and many doctors are skeptical of using one PSA test score as a standalone indicator.

But top medical centers use a range of information (including calibrated PSA values) to help determine the cause of an elevated PSA before they order a biopsyA test done to determine the presence of cancer by removing small samples of tissue from an individual’s organ to examine them under a microscope. as a last resort.  Using best practices, you can greatly reduce your risk of encountering false positives and inadvertently discovering indolent cancers, while reducing the risk of recurrence after treatment among your patients.

For a typical man, typical progressing cancerCancer that is progressing at a fast rate and is life-threatening. can be detected earlier by Soar Dynamic Screening when the cancer is smaller (by a factor of up to three compared to using only a PSA threshold of 4.0) and easier to treat. Because Soar looks at the annual rate of change in your patients’ PSA trendThe trend of PSA levels over time. (PSA velocityThe rate at which the PSA level rises.) and other information, using Soar Dynamic Screening can help you detect progressing cancer earlier than using a simple PSA threshold.

Currently, too many biopsies are ordered as soon as a patient’s PSA reaches a level of 4.0.  As a result, 75% of prostate biopsies in the U.S. actually fail to find cancer and many doctors are skeptical of using one PSA test score as a standalone indicator.

 

But top medical centers use a range of information (including calibrated PSA values) to help determine the cause of an elevated PSA before they order a biopsy as a last resort.  Using best practices, you can greatly reduce your risk of encountering false positives and inadvertently discovering indolent cancers, while reducing the risk of recurrence after treatment among your patients.

 

For a typical man, typical progressing cancer can be detected earlier by Soar Dynamic ScreeningAn advanced form of research-based mathematical analysis that augments the information you and your doctor are working with by comparing you to thousands of similar people across the world. when the cancer is smaller (by a factor of up to three compared to using only a PSA threshold of 4.0) and easier to treat. Because Soar looks at the annual rate of change in your patients’ PSA trend (PSA velocity) and other information, using Soar Dynamic Screening can help detect progressing cancer earlier than using a simple PSA threshold.

Address the screening controversy

Headlines triggered by articles in the New England Journal of Medicine in the spring of 2009 raised two questions about screening for prostate cancerUncontrolled growth of the cells of the prostate.:


Many leading urologists have in fact concluded that early treatment based on early detection from screening does save lives and that screening for many men is more than worth the risks – and have pointed out the limitations of the NEJM studies.

Death is only the last negative consequence of progressing prostateA donut-shaped gland the size and shape of a walnut that surrounds the upper portion of the male urethra. Its main function is to produce part of the fluid that makes up semen. cancer.  Early detection and treatment of progressing prostate cancer offer the possibility of lower recurrenceThe return of a medical condition. and lower risk of local progression, distant metastasis, death and emotional and physical suffering throughout progression before death.