Dr. Dahut on the Future of Genetic Screening in Prostate Cancer

William L. Dahut, MD, senior investigator and section chief, Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, head, Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Section, clinical director and scientific director for clinical research, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (NCI), discusses the future of genetic screening in prostate cancer.

Understanding an individual’s risk of developing prostate cancer is important for all men rather than just those with a high genetic risk, explains Dahut. By individualizing risk, men can be informed of how and when they should receive genetic screening, as well as how to interpret the results.

It has been challenging to implement widespread screening for fear of overscreening in the United States, says Dahut. Consequently, overtreatment could occur if all men are screened the same way and treated accordingly.

Individualizing screening and refining how genetic testing results are interpreted could benefit men, explains Dahut.

Additionally, ongoing clinical trials exploring chemotherapy-free regimens may delay or eliminate the need for aggressive localized therapies in prostate cancer, concludes Dahut.