Questions and Answers

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 [see also: PCA3 background information and 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.