Vanguard Urologic Research Foundation

CLINICAL RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION OF THE FDA-APPROVED PROSTATE HEALTH INDEX (PHI ) TEST: IN 2012, THE PHI TEST, BASED ON A NOVEL, CLIPPED FORM OF PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN (PSA) CO-DISCOVERED BY DR. SLAWIN, WAS FDA-APPROVED TO DETECT PROSTATE CANCER IN MEN WITH A PSA BETWEEN 4 AND 10 NG/ML. IN 2014, THE VANGUARD UROLOGIC INSTITUTE WAS THE FIRST IN THE NATION TO OFFER THE PHI TEST IN THE UNITES STATES. THE PHI TEST ADDRESSES MANY OF THE CONCERNS RAISED BY THE USPSTF REGARDING THE PSA TEST, RAISING THE PROSPECTS OF REDUCING FALSE NEGATIVE TESTS, UNNECESSARY BIOPSIES AND INCREASING THE DETECTION OF HIGH RISK, LIFE-THREATENING PROSTATE CANCER. SINCE THEN VURF HAS BEGUN SEVERAL INITIATIVES INVOLVING THE PHI TEST TO EVALUATE ITS PERFORMANCE AND TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND USE OF THE TEST BY PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS. VURF VIA ITS CLINICAL DATA AND SPECIMEN BANK IS DEVELOPING A LARGE DATABASE OF PATIENTS WHO HAVE HAD THE TEST DONE, ALONG WITH ANOTHER NOVEL MOLECULAR TEST FOR PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING, THE URINE PCA-3 TEST THE INCLUDES CLINICAL DATA AND PROSTATE BIOPSY RESULTS THAT WILL SERVE AS THE BASIS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF THE PHI TEST IN CLINICAL PRACTICE . FURTHERMORE, VURF IS DEVELOPING MULTIPLE RESOURCES, INCLUDING MAILING CAMPAIGNS, WEBSITES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES TO HELP EDUCATE PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS ABOUT THE PHI TEST AND ITS POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PUBLIC HEALTH.