Better Prostate Screening Test Needed as Studies Cast Doubt
March 26 2009 - 4:35AM
Business Wire
Two recent studies confirm longstanding concerns about the
wisdom of widespread prostate cancer screening using the
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. The two studies found
that the popular PSA test save few lives and often lead to risky
and unnecessary treatments for large numbers of men.
High levels of PSA, a protein released by prostate cells,
suggests that cancer might be present, prompting physicians to
order biopsies to determine if cancer exists inside the gland.
However, only 25% of those biopsied turn out to have prostate
cancer and no clear test is available to distinguish between the
faster-growing cancers and the slow ones, resulting in excessive
and often unnecessary surgical treatment. Furthermore, about 40% of
localized prostate cancers do not secrete high levels of PSA and
are missed entirely.
�The reported European and U.S. studies are far from
surprising,� says Dr. Amnon Gonenne, President and CEO of MabCure
Inc., a diagnostic company that has developed a series of highly
specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against melanoma, ovarian
carcinoma, and prostate cancer. �The severe limitations of PSA
testing stems from the fact that the antigen is not a true cancer
marker, but a surrogate for an enlarged or otherwise inflamed
prostate.�
Moreover, since the majority of prostate cancers are not life
threatening, older men are more likely to die with the disease than
from the disease. Therefore, the challenge of diagnosing prostate
cancer in its early stage is not merely identifying the presence of
cancer, but the ability to determine if the cancer is low risk or
aggressive and life threatening. Until prostate cancer-specific
markers are identified the diagnostic challenge of identifying men
at risk will not be met.
A simple test that can help identify life-threatening prostate
cancer is on the horizon thanks to novel monoclonal antibodies
(MAbs). MAbs are large, highly complex proteins that recognize
other molecules or regions of other molecules known as antigens.
MabCure Inc. is creating MAbs for the detection of early-stage
cancer (in blood, urine, or other bodily fluids), where the cure
rates are greater than 90%.
�At least one of our MAbs has been shown
to have high specificity in that it does not react with normal
prostate tissue but only with diseased tissue,� says Dr. Gonenne.
�MabCure plans to expand its MAb repertoire as well as screen its
anti-prostate cancer MAbs for their ability to detect early
aggressive cancer in serum or urine.� For more information, log on
to www.mabcure.com.
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