Matthew R. Cooperberg Archives

Pros and Cons of the ReIMAGINE Trial

Posted by Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH | Apr 2024

Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the Risk and Screening arms of the ongoing ReIMAGINE trial. He begins by describing the two arms of the study, ReIMAGINE Screening and ReIMAGINE Risk, and then focuses on the Screening arm, digging into the participant data.

Dr. Cooperberg addresses the sequence of screening tests in the ReIMAGINE trial, and reasserts the value of PSA as an initial screening marker, using supporting evidence from the ongoing STHLM3-MRI trial.

Dr. Cooperberg concludes by explaining that ReIMAGINE Risk will be useful as a biorepository in the future. While ReIMAGINE Screening shows PSA with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is better than PSA alone, he reiterates that as a first screen, PSA <1 (or 1.5) is tough to beat. Dr. Cooperberg explains that MRI is useful for helping to guide biopsy and is acceptable as a second screening tool. However, other markers are more effective and less expensive in the United States.

Forward Progress in Molecular Markers for Prostate Cancer

Posted by Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH | Apr 2023

Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH, argues biomarkers can persuade primary care physicians to increase patient screening of prostate cancer.

Updates in Prostate Cancer Biomarkers

Posted by Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH | Sep 2022

Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH, Professor of Urology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Helen Diller Family Chair in Urology at the University of California, San Francisco, addresses prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and explains that a PSA below the median has a very strong negative predictive value (NPV) in terms of meaningful cancer. He asserts that, when combined with secondary biomarker testing before biopsy, early baseline PSA can be very effective in terms of risk assessment. He also explains that as research on biomarkers evolves, the field will get closer to being able to use genomic information derived from the primary tumor to make initial and follow-on treatment decisions.

Forward Progress in Molecular Markers in Prostate Cancer

Posted by Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH | Jul 2022

Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH, Professor of Urology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Helen Diller Family Chair in Urology at the University of California, San Francisco, explores a range of biomarkers used for diagnosis, risk stratification, and guiding treatment for prostate he cancer. He first details pre-biopsy diagnosis or prostate cancer, including PSA, 4K, phi, MyProstateScore, ExoDX, SelectMDx, and mpMRI. Dr. Cooperberg discusses how post-diagnosis biomarkers must be shown to improve on an existing, validated, multivariable model reflecting all available clinical information rather than on a single variable or nonlinear risk grouping, and reviews post-diagnosis options for risk stratification and treatment.

Biomarkers and Clinical Decisions – Integrating with Clinical Parameters, Imaging & Prognostic Instruments

Posted by Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH | Mar 2021

Matthew R. Cooperberg, MD, MPH, Professor of Urology and Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Helen Diller Family Chair in Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), outlines the current role of biomarkers in clinical decision-making for prostate cancer. In the first part of the presentation, he discusses markers for pre-diagnosis evaluation, noting that candidate markers have to improve on an existing multivariable gold standard, have to identify potentially lethal prostate cancer, and should be held to the same standard as other biomarkers. Dr. Cooperberg goes over the tests that are currently available, and considers where markers belong in the testing sequence. He observes that liquid markers have better negative predictive value for high-grade cancer than MRI does, and also emphasizes the continued importance of systematic biopsy. He then explains the emerging UCSF diagnostic sequencing approach, in which patients with an elevated marker receive a biopsy regardless of MRI results. In the next part of the presentation, Dr. Cooperberg looks at the relatively stagnant state of post-diagnosis markers. According to him, risk groups are outdated and need to be replaced. He then summarizes the 2nd San Francisco Consensus Statement on this matter, which says that a putative biomarker must be shown to improve on an existing, validated, multivariable model reflecting all available clinical information, and explains that while some biomarkers meet this criteria, they are not yet standard of care. Dr. Cooperberg concludes that the liberal use of secondary tests to aid decision-making before and after biopsy helps drive balance of risks and harms in favor of early baseline PSA screening with low initial threshold, that MRI can help target biopsy and stage cancer but does not replace need for initial systematic biopsy, and that no test is binary.