There’s a new urine test available that reportedly managed to correctly detect prostate cancer for 92% of the men tested who had high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The way the test works is it detects genetic changes that are apparently indicative of the patient having the disease. One setback to the traditional PSA blood test that has been used up until this point is its inability to determine whether the cancer is low or high grade, which can make a huge difference on treatment. For example, if the patient only has low-grade prostate cancer, there is usually no active treatment required, whereas with high-grade cancer, the treatment can be pretty severe and extremely taxing on the body. But with this new urine test, that problem may just have been solved.
A number agencies have reportedly begun to recommend against taking the blood test due to its inability to determine the severity of the cancer. That’s because only about a quarter of men who have prostate cancer have a level that requires heavy treatment, which means an alarming number of patients are potentially being misdiagnosed and given treatments that can be extremely taxing on their bodies.
The patients were all 50 years of age or older. They correctly determined 90% of the men with high grade and 90% of the men with low grade cancer, which presumably indicates that this burden of misdiagnosing patients will soon be a thing of the past. The exam was based on scores. Anyone who scored above 15.6 were predicted to be high and anyone under that number was considered low. Apparently this test could have prevented just under 30% of cancer patients from undergoing unnecessary and extremely invasive biopsies.
That’s one of the worst parts about prostate cancer treatment is its invasiveness. Treatment, as well as testing, in the past has required multiple rectal exams throughout the process, which can be physically and emotionally exhausting. And considering the fact that more patients with prostate cancer don’t need such treatment than do, this test could prove to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of men throughout the country.
Learn more about the latest in urological treatments, whether it pertains to your prostate, issues with erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, or something else by calling the Luzato Medical Group at 212-661-7003. There you will find the most skilled and meticulously detail oriented urologist NYC has to offer.