Men's Osteoporosis Support Group

Early prostate cancer test on the horizon

New Test For Early Detection Of Prostate Cancer Shows Promise. See this ScienceDaily Web site for information about recent studies at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions on the Early Prostate Cancer Antigen (EPCA) test for prostate cancer. You can also follow the links here to other articles about EPCA. Also see Detection of prostate cancer with a blood-based assay for early prostate cancer antigen, Cancer Res. 2005 May 15;65(10)4097-100, Paul B and others. PMID: 15899799. This test showed 94% success rate in the Paul and others study concerning detection of the antigen in men with known prostate cancer. This compares to about a 25% detection rate for men with elevated PSA levels who undergo prostate biopsy. Editor's comments: Although this is early in the development phase for EPCA test, it is showing exciting promise so I wanted to highlight that success. This could be especially important for men with osteoporosis who also have hypogonadism and will need testosterone supplementation. Although testosterone doesn't cause prostate cancer, it does speed its growth. Thus it is important to detect prostate cancer in men who are starting testosterone therapy. The EPCA test shows very exciting promise as an effective way to improve the detection of prostate cancer, especially early in the progression of the disease when it is most desirable to find it. Until the EPCA test is approved for prostate cancer diagnosis, PSA testing is still the standard test available for men now. This Newsletter has more information for men interested in this topic.