May 7, 2007, ST. LOUIS – Could a new test for prostate cancer be on the horizon?
While a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test isn''t perfect, it remains the gold standard screening tool when it comes to finding prostate cancer. But it only looks for elevated levels of prostate and not prostate cancer.
Finding a new test is a high priority for doctors.
"We have been on a quest to find not to find a prostate specific marker, but a prostate cancer specific marker," says Gerald Andriole, MD, chief of urology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. "Now in EPCA-2 we may have found that particular type of marker."
EPCA-2 stands for early prostate cancer antigen-2. Researchers in the April issue of Urology found the blood test far more effective than the traditional PSA.
"PSA is just what it says, it is prostate specific, it is not prostate cancer specific," says Dr. Andriole. "Although PSA is a good marker, the reality is there''s a lot of guys out there who have elevations in their PSA levels who we don''t find prostate cancer in."
Dr. Andriole says for those men with elevated PSA, they frequently have biopsies that turn out to be unnecessary. A targeted test such as EPCA-2 would eliminate that.
"It seems as though this marker is produced by prostate cancer cells and gets into the blood of the patient much more specifically than PSA does," says Dr. Andriole
The new test isn''t ready for prime-time just yet. Dr. Andriole says centers around the country will begin clinical trials testing its effectiveness on a larger patient population. Still, Dr. Andriole says the news is exciting in the medical community.
"This was one somewhat preliminary study, but it was a blockbuster," he says.
"It essentially said that 39 out of the 40 men who had prostate cancers had elevations in this marker, so it''s much, much more accurate overall than PSA," says Dr. Andriole.
For more information about prostate cancer or for a free prostate cancer awareness kit, call the Siteman Cancer Center at 800-600-3606.