Genetic Test for Prostate Cancer

A new urine-based test for PCA3, a specific gene expressed in prostate cancer tissue much more than in benign prostate tissue, is designed to detect prostate cancer.

No other human tissues have been shown to produce PCA3. The new test, called uPM3, predicts cancer in prostate biopsy with 81% accuracy, compared to 47% accuracy for prostate specific antigen (PSA), according to Bostwick Laboratories (Richmond, VA, USA; www.bostwicklaboratories.com). The company has licensed the test from DiagnoCure, Inc. (Quebec, Canada), which holds worldwide patent rights for diagnostic and therapeutic applications of the PCA3 gene.

Patients undergo a digital rectal prostate exam by a urologist, which causes cells from the prostate to be shed into the urine. The urine sample is tested by Bostwick Laboratories for genetic expression of the PCA3 gene. If the sample is positive for PCA3, the patient has a very high likelihood of having prostate cancer.

"The sensitivity and specificity of the uPM3 test surpasses PSA and all other existing prostate cancer detection tests other than biopsy,” said Dr. Bostwick, medical director and CEO of Bostwick Laboratories.




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Bostwick Laboratories