New Urine Test Shows Prostate Cancer Risk; Test for Gene Fusion Can Assist in the Early Detection

New Urine Test Shows Prostate Cancer Risk; Test for Gene Fusion Can Assist in the Early Detection of Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2011) — A new urine test can help aid early detection of and treatment decisions about prostate cancer, a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology finds.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803143132.htm

A company called Health Discovery Corp. developed a genetically based urine test for PC two or three years ago. It's called the "Four Gene Signature Urine test" The test completed clinical trials and was FDA approved. Health Discovery licensed the test to both Abbott Labs and Quest Labs.. So far, they have been sitting on it while patent questions and other arrangements are worked out...

Not only can this test discover cancer very early and with certainty, it can also predict the Gleason score with good accuracy. But backstage maneuvering has kept it off the market...

It is a disgrace..Men are dying and these companies are more worried about the revenue stream and how it will be allocated...

I have dug into this as deep as I could and discovered a few little tidbits which may or may not be true...

The test MAY be expensive and time-consuming to perform..
The existing revenue stream generated by PSA testing will be greatly reduced, changing the status quo which is always difficult...
There are several very similar genetically based tests that have been developed, some in foreign countries, so patent conflicts have made providers shy about developing the market....

In the original trials, men with higher than normal PSA readings were given the Four Gene Test..With 90% accuracy, the genetic test could detect whether the high PSA reading was caused by cancer or not..But then the researchers discovered that the genetic test could spot prostate cancer long before a rising PSA rang the alarm..The genetic test could be used as a stand-alone prostate cancer screening test far more effectively than the standard PSA test. Not only that, the results of the genetic test could be used to predict the Gleason score of any cancer discovered...

As you can imagine, those who made their living performing PSA tests and prostate biopsies were facing an uncertain future...But so far, lawyers are the only ones making any money off it....