Evidence Supporting Expansion of NCCN Guidelines of Germline Testing in Prostate Cancer

Samantha E. Greenberg, MS, MPH, CGC, a genetic counselor at the Hunstman Cancer Institute, discusses if the changes to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prostate Cancer. NCCN has expanded germline testing in metastatic prostate cancer to all patients with high-risk, very high-risk, or regional prostate cancer.

Overall, Greenberg believe the guideline update is warranted. According to Greenberg, as the NCCN guidelines around testing become broader, it’s important to consider if there is a benefit to that broadening. Some previous research has suggested that metastatic prostate cancer had a higher rate of germline pathogenic variables compared with high-risk groupings.

Greenberg also notes that an analysis found that there is not a large difference in the occurrence of germline mutations between the 2 groups, solidifying the NCCN guideline.