Prostate Cancer: Getting a Second Opinion
Indianapolis, Indiana (PRWEB) June 25, 2015 -- After receiving a diagnosis of cancer, some physicians encourage a patient to seek a second opinion (and most friends and family will insist on it); perhaps seeking out an expert medical center that specializes in a particular type of cancer (and, in most cases, health insurance providers including Medicare will cover the cost of a 2nd and even a 3rd opinion).
But before obtaining a second opinion, one should verify that the cancer diagnosis actually is theirs. The process of collecting and evaluating surgical biopsy specimens opens itself to specimen switching and contamination errors (known as specimen provenance complications - SPCs). These errors are usually beyond the control of your physician. According to a report published by the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Mary Bronner identified 18 different steps as part of the diagnostic testing cycle many of which can create an opportunity for a switching or contamination error. Further, an article in the Journal of Urology estimates that 1 in 200 prostate biopsy patients are affected by these switching and contamination errors.
The Know Error test offered by Strand Diagnostics, known as DNA Specimen Provenance Assay (DSPA), can confirm the biopsy tissue belongs exclusively to the patient being evaluated eliminating the chance for specimen contamination and switching errors that can lead to misdiagnosis. The know error® system compares the DNA profile of the patient’s reference sample (usually a cheek swab, similar to a QTip®) to the DNA profile of the biopsy sample(s). Matching DNA profiles allows your physician to proceed confidently knowing that your first and second opinions belong to you.
As part of Men’s Health Month, Strand encourages those who have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer to seek a second opinion as well as confirm that the diagnosis is truly his. Always ask for the Know Error test along with obtaining a second opinion.
About Strand Diagnostics
Strand Diagnostics protects the person in personalized medicine® from its high complexity DNA laboratory in Indianapolis, Indiana. Strand is certified to perform medical DNA testing nationally by CLIA and the States of New York, California, and Pennsylvania, and is accredited by FQS-I to perform DNA identification for law enforcement agencies pursuant to FBI standards. Strand’s patented know error® system is used to protect thousands of surgical biopsy patients each month from diagnostic errors resulting from switched or contaminated tissue specimens. For more information, please visit http://www.knowerror.com.
Resources
Bronner MP. DNA fingerprint analysis for specimen identification. Clinical and Translational Pathology Research. Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. 2006;Fall:5-7.
Wojno, K.; Hornberger, J.; Schellhammer, P.; Dai, M.; Morgan, T. The clinical and economic implications of specimen provenance complications in diagnostic prostate biopsies, The Journal of Urology® (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2014.11.019.
Linda Tuttle, Strand Diagnostics, LLC, http://www.knowerror.com, +1 8889246779 Ext: 151, [email protected]
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