Questions about Prostate Screening EpiSwitch (PSE) testing

Based on my limited reading, PSE is a PSA test plus an epigenetic test to refine the results and reduce false positives. You're still getting a big part of it with your PSA.

Up to now, PSE has been researched mainly for screening the general population to discover new prostate cancer cases, not for surveillance of existing cancer, but someone here in the forum has been in touch with a researcher who believes it can be effective for surveillance as well. I don't think peer-reviewed stats exist for that yet, though, so probably no one can give you any precise numbers.

steven.arrivo@oxfordbiodynamics.com This person is the Sr. Vice President of Business Development at Oxford Biodynamics, the firm responsible for the PSE test. He welcomes email from folks like us, so you might send him an email to see what he has to say. My first email to him went into his spam filter, so try contacting him personally if you don't hear back from him. +1 520 241 5994 (cell).

The PSE test is designed to figure out whether or not you have prostate cancer. Because you already have/had it it is in your bloodstream. The PSE test will not really give you any more information as a result. With a Gleason 9 It is even more unlikely to be of any use.

If you get off ADT get monthly tests, for a while, because you are more likely than most to have reoccurrence.

Was hopeing for earlier detection even before the rise in psa so I didn’t let things get out of hand while on adt holiday.

I do blood monthly even tho the med oncologist is only quarterly

As @jeffmarc mentioned, imaging might be more effective than that for earlier detection, since PSA is still the main part of the branded "PSE" test/

As @northoftheborder says, imaging might be more effective to find out what’s going on. If your PSA stays undetectable, then a PSMA pet scan probably won’t show anything, unless it’s quite advanced.

You should’ve had a CT scan and a bone scan early in your treatment. Repeating those tests every six months or so would show if there is a change that might not be detected on the PSMA pet scan. That way they can compare the scans to the previous ones.

Some doctors are doing PSMA pet scans even with low PSA, but not all are doing that

Yes, PSE can be used to detect recurrent prostate cancer. Like one of the commenters mentioned above, the test analyzes immune cells in the blood that have been at interplay with prostate cancer (or not). The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines urge provider to utilize tests (biomarkers) that enhance the specificity of results. PSE has 97% specificity compared to PSA's 53%. So I do think PSE can serve as a superior early detection tool that may also help avoid unnecessary MRIs and/or biopsies due to high PSA scores that aren't actually a reflection of disease recurrence.

Thank you for that post. Would PSE have any added value for someone who's been on ADT+Apalutamide for several years to manage mCSPC, and has undetectable PSA (< 0.01)?

Guys: I just got my PSE test back to see if it showed biological re-occurrence. I have attached it without my personal info. When I asked about the 9 out 10 men and absence of cancer statistically, this is what they said:

"our Negative predictive value (NPV) is 95% - 95 out 100 are truly negative. The stats come from a study of over 400 men in a clinical study and the principal investigators, not the company."