Beckman Coulter hat mit ProstateHealthIndex.org ein englischsprachiges Portal gestartet, das Patienten, Ärzten und Untersuchungslabors helfen soll das Risiko und die Behandlungsmethoden von Prostatakrebs-Erkrankungen besser zu verstehen. 

Beckman Coulter has created a new website (ProstateHealthIndex.org) to educate patients, physicians and laboratory personnel on the benefits of its newest prostate disease marker, p2PSA, and the Prostate Health Index (phi)*, which significantly improves the specificity of prostate cancer biomarker assessment.

The website, which is designed to encourage dialogue between patients, physicians and laboratory professionals, provides guidance and education to all parties in order to foster confident prostate biopsy decision-making. Offering answers to questions as introductory as "What is PSA?" to more advanced questions such as "How does the new phi result compare with other tests?", the new online resource presents information in an intuitive format. Additionally, ProstateHealthIndex.org provides links to credible medical resources, the latest unbiased scientific studies and details the benefits of the latest blood test, which can non-invasively identify patients who are most likely to have a negative prostate biopsy.

Beckman Coulter phi

The Beckman Coulter phi combines three automated blood tests into one index that estimates a man's probability of having prostate cancer found on biopsy. Beckman Coulter phi is a composite score of Access Hybritech PSA, free PSA and the new p2PSA* assay, which measures the isoform [-2]proPSA. Clinical studies, including a recent study published in The Journal of Urology, have confirmed that the Beckman Coulter phi score is a better predictor of prostate cancer risk than PSA or percent free PSA alone in men 50 years of age and older with a PSA range of 2-10 ng/mL who had a digital rectal exam (DRE) that resulted in no suspicious findings.

"The prostate health index comprises three simple blood tests that provide information to help physicians be more confident about the decision to biopsy," said John Blackwood, vice president and general manager, Beckman Coulter Immunoassay Business Center. "Our goal is to help patients, physicians and laboratory professionals get the information they need to make the most informed decisions, and ProstateHealthIndex.org is yet another tool that can provide information to enable greater confidence."

The website provides multiple and unique ways for users to obtain information about phi. Using private online forms, patients can invite their doctor to learn more about the test; physicians may invite laboratories they use to learn more about phi; and laboratories can easily request a quote for phi directly from Beckman Coulter's eStore.