How should the PCA3 Score be interpreted?
The laboratory calculates the Prostate CAncer gene 3 (PCA3) Score after analysing the urine sample. A high PCA3 Score indicates a high probability of prostate cancer in the prostate biopsy. A low PCA3 Score indicates a low probability of prostate cancer in the biopsy. A study evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of the PCA3 Assay showed that a PCA3 cut-off Score of 35 had the greatest diagnostic utility [http://www.pca3.org/public/about-pca3en/about-pca3 and http://www.pca3.org/pro/pca3-utility]. The figure below indicates how the PCA3 Score can be interpreted. The PCA3 core is a spectrum of risk, therefore scores at either end are more predictive than scores closer to the center. At a PCA3 Score of 80 the probability is fairly high that there will be prostate cancer in the biopsy while at a PCA3 Score of 140 this probability is very high.

- Keywords:
- Diagnosis
- PCA3 Score
- Test
- Biopsy