New urine test predicts high-grade prostate cancer

Suspicious findings from prostate cancer screening are often followed by a procedure most men would prefer to avoid: a prostate biopsy. But what if biopsies actually could be avoided on the basis of non-invasive test results? Screening tests are moving in that direction, with some intriguing results. One of them, the Prostate Health Index blood test, combines measures of three forms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) into a score that helps doctors predict if a cancer is likely to progress, with an aim to circumvent biopsies that aren’t necessary. Another non-invasive test, called the PCA3 assay, measures genetic evidence of aggressive cancer in urine samples, and generates a score designed to help doctors assess the need for a repeat biopsy. Though approved by the Food and Drug Administration, these tests aren’t perfect, and experts question the reliability of the PCA3 test in particular. Now researchers are considering the value of a new test that also looks for evidence of high-grade prostate cancer in urine. The results were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association last April. Called the “urine exosome gene expression assay,” it measures not just PCA3 but also two other genes associated with high-grade disease: ERG and SPDEF. The test combines those measures into a diagnostic score that “could help determine if an initial prostate biopsy is warranted,” said its co-developer Dr. Michael Donovan, a pathologist and researcher at The Mount Sinai...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cancer Health Prostate Health Screening Tests and procedures prostate cancer Source Type: news