Blood Test for Prostate Cancer

A new blood test for prostate cancer, called early prostate cancer antigen (EPCA), is under development, with clinical trials expected before the end of 2005.

The test is being developed by Tessera, Inc. (Seattle, WA, USA) and Dr. Robert Getzenberg, director of the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA). A study on the EPCA blood test was published in the May 15, 2005, issue of Cancer Research. In this study, the EPCA protein was measured in the plasma of 46 subjects, including prostate cancer patients, other cancer patients, spinal cord victims, patients with prostatitis, and healthy subjects. The sensitivity of the EPCA test for prostate cancer patients was 92%, with an overall specificity of 94%. Specificity for the healthy subjects was 100%.

Multi-site clinical trials will soon be underway to verify the test's usefulness for detecting prostate cancer in a larger sample of patients. Tessera has announced the release of EPCA IHC (immunohisto chemistry) for use in pathology laboratories on tissue samples taken in prostate biopsies, as an aid in detecting cancer in biopsy samples that otherwise appear to be normal. EPCA IHC was also developed in collaboration with Dr. Getzenberg.

"This new blood test, when coupled with PSA [prostate-specific antigen] screening, may help reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and undetected prostate tumors,” observed Dr. Getzenberg. "Our ultimate objective is to differentiate between aggressive and nonaggressive forms of prostate and colon cancer.”

Tessera expects to launch a similar pathology test for colon cancer in 2005-2006. The company has obtained exclusive worldwide rights to the use and development of more than 60 protein markers for the early diagnosis of prostate and colon cancer as well as for drug screening and in vivo imaging. Under a research contract, Tessera funds the discovery and development of these markers in Dr. Getzenberg's laboratory at Johns Hopkins.





Related Links:
Brady Urological Research Inst.
Tessera