COVER STORIES

PSA Testing: Yes, No, Maybe?
Recent Research, Guidelines Updates Add to Controversy
By Gina Rollins

Since its introduction in the 1980s, the prostate-specific antigen test has been a controversial screening tool for prostate cancer. Recently published interim reports from two landmark clinical trials did not end the confusion, and guideline updates of major professional organizations have moved already discordant PSA-related recommendations further apart, underscoring the need to find biomarkers that are more specific for prostate cancer.

Ethics Code Changes For Diagnostic Manufacturers
Why Should Laboratorians Take Notice?
By Bill Malone

A new code of ethics for the IVD industry is addressing relationships between healthcare professionals and manufacturers. Effective July 1, the revised code seeks to head off demands from regulators while nurturing the unique role that laboratorians and other healthcare professionals play in developing and refining new technology.

SERIES ARTICLES

Warfarin Dosing
Should Labs Offer Pharmacogenetic Testing?
By Charles Eby, MD

Although genetic testing offers the promise of allowing doctors to tailor warfarin dosing specifically to a patient’s genotype, medical groups remain divided over whether to fully endorse the tests.

NEWS BRIEF

INSIDE

In this excerpt from AACC Expert Access Online, Corinne Fantz, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga., answers questions about the importance of assigning critical values to various lab tests.

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Regulatory Profiles