Prostate cancer can now be diagnosed with a urine test. The new test, recently launched in the UK, is called the Progensa Test, and it measures the activity of the gene PCA3, which is closely tied to prostate cancer.
The test in current common use is the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. The PSA test, which is notoriously unreliable, checks for raised blood levels of a protein that leaks out of the prostate gland. Some men with low PSA levels turn out to have cancer, while some men with high levels are actually cancer-free. Up to this time, the only way to be sure whether prostate cancer was present or not was to perform a biopsy, which is painful and can produce unwanted side effects. It is hoped that the Progensa Test will help men whose diagnosis remains up in the air even after a biopsy to at least avoid repeated biopsies.
The Progensa Test looks for the activity of PCA3, which is elevated only in cancerous prostate tissue. The test may also help physicians decide which cancers really need to be treated. “There’s some data to suggest that PCA3 gives us a better handle on that,” said Professor Roger Kirby, from the London Prostate Cancer Treatment Center.
The Progensa Test is likely to be reserved in the UK for high-risk patients because of the cost: the Progensa Test costs £200, while the standard PSA test costs only £10.
© 2007 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
|
