New Marker Can Detect Prostate Cancer at the Earliest Stages

[SteveH]

New Marker Can Detect Prostate Cancer at the Earliest Stages

Blood test for protein found in prostate cancer cells, known as EPCA-2, is more accurate than PSA at identifying men with prostate cancer

THURSDAY, April 26 (PCF) - A blood test for a protein found in prostate cancer cells, known as EPCA-2, is more accurate than PSA at identifying men with prostate cancer, according to results from a study published in the journal Urology.

PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is widely used to detect prostate cancer before symptoms appear. Yet PSA is specific to prostate disease, not prostate cancer, and therefore requires a follow-up biopsy to determine whether cancer is present. Ideally, an ideal detection test would eliminate the need for biopsies in men without prostate cancer but in whom PSA is elevated for another reason.

In the study led by Robert H. Getzenberg, PhD, Director of Urology Research at the Brady Urological Institute at The Johns Hopkins University, investigators found that EPCA-2, a protein found in prostate cancer cells, is more accurate than PSA at distinguishing between cancerous and noncancerous prostates. (Dr. Getzenberg was a recipient of a 2005 and a 2006 Prostate Cancer Foundation Competitive Award.)

If these findings are confirmed in larger clinical trials, the use of the EPCA-2 test could help physicians identify patients who are more likely to have prostate cancer and therefore minimize the number of biopsies performed in men without cancer.

Of note, EPCA-2 was also found to be more accurate than PSA at distinguishing between cancers that are localized to the prostate and those that have begun to spread. This suggests that EPCA-2 could become a useful tool for identifying men in greater need for immediate treatment of prostate cancer.

An office-based blood test for EPCA-2 is in development and is being studied in clinical trials. It is not yet known when the test might be available for use.

Information about the risk factors, detection, and diagnosis of prostate cancer can be found in the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s An Introduction to Prostate Cancer, available at
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/introduction.