New Test Improves Prostate Cancer Detection!
Here's some great news if you're worried about joining the nine million American men who suffer from prostate problems…
A new test can detect a gene that helps doctors tell the difference between prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate (BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia). The new test requires a urine sample instead of a blood test to detect the prostate cancer antigen-3, or PCA3.
Continued below...
Toxic chemical condemned 8 men to die of prostate cancer John S. watched helplessly as 7 of his Vietnam platoon buddies died of prostate cancer, one by one. They were exposed to chemicals during the war that caused them to get cancer when they reached middle age. Then, in 2002, John found out it was his turn. He got opinions from three different doctors and they all told him the same thing: he'd need a miracle to survive. John found the miracle he needed. Four years after his diagnosis, he told us, "I am healthy and happy with no symptoms of the disease." He actually wishes he'd gotten the disease sooner so he could have told his Army buddies this secret. It might have saved their lives. We're ALL exposed every day to chemicals similar to the ones that killed these veterans. A man is just about certain to get prostate cancer if he lives long enough. That means John's life-saving secret is big news for men everywhere. Click here and keep reading. . . |
The PCA3 gene is found only in the prostate. This gene kicks into overdrive if prostate cells become cancerous. In fact, prostate cancer cells can have as much as 60 to 100 times more PCA3 than normal cells.
The most commonly used test to detect prostate cancer is the PSA test. And if you know about the PSA test you'll be thrilled to learn there's something new and better in the pipeline.
Goodbye to PSA scores, I hope
The PSA test requires painful needle sticks to provide blood samples. The test detects a protein called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, produced by all prostate cells.
The only problem is…
…other non-cancerous conditions can cause your PSA levels to rise.
This means PSA testing often produces 'false positive' results. Many men wind up enduring unnecessary biopsies or even undergoing expensive surgery needlessly! Prostate biopsies are a terrible idea — see why in our newsletter issue #78 at www.cancerdefeated.com/newsletters/index.html.
Test data suggest the new PCA3 test has a cancer detection accuracy of over 80 percent, compared to a specificity of 25 percent for the PSA test. This could improve doctors' chances of finding these deadly cells before they spread throughout the body.
Common prostate problems may mask
more deadly cancer growth…
The prostate is a small gland that sits just below your bladder. A healthy mature prostate should be about the size of a walnut, after experiencing a growth spurt at puberty.
Around age 25, the prostate begins to grow again. Hormones, diet, and environmental factors contribute to this second growth spurt.
If it grows too much—a man can experience serious discomfort and problems with urination.
According to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), excessive prostate growth — BPH -- affects some 20 million men.
Although the growth is non-cancerous, some symptoms of BPH can mimic those related to prostate cancer, including:
1. Blood in the urine
2. Pushing or straining to pass urine
3. Weak or slow urine stream
Another common prostate problem is called prostatitis. This condition occurs when the prostate becomes inflamed or infected from bacteria in the urinary tract.
Doctors often prescribe antibiotics to treat the painful bladder infections and other symptoms of prostatitis, which may include:
a) Burning or stinging sensation while urinating
b) Genital and rectal throbbing
c) Low back pain or body aches
d) Pain low in the belly or groin
e) Sexual problems and loss of sex drive
f) Painful ejaculation
None of these conditions is cancerous. But they can hide the growth of abnormal prostate cells. These cancer cells often grow slowly and can go undetected for many years.
In truth, about 90 percent of prostate cancer growth goes undetected. And when doctors find these deadly cells, they've often spread throughout your body. By then it may be too late for treatment!
Clinical tests show the PCA3 test trumps
standard PSA tests at cancer detection!
The PCA3 test is widely available for use in Europe, but has yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And it's hard to say when it will pass all of the FDA's rigorous requirements.
But from what I'm able to learn, you can get the PCA3 test in the United States if you're persistent. It's available in a few places and from a few labs. And in my opinion it's well worth it. Do not submit to needle biopsies, much less surgery or radiation, based merely on high PSA scores. They aren't an accurate gage of prostate cancer risk.
Although various U.S. labs have produced versions of the PCA3 test, the one that's been submitted for FDA approval is manufactured by Gen-Probe, a molecular diagnostics company based in San Diego, CA. Although the PCA3 test isn't yet FDA-approved, clinic trials have shown it to be effective.
One study published in the journal European Urology, followed 721 men who received biopsies for prostate cancer. Among the men with a PSA level of 3 nanograms per milliliter—a level that would lead some doctors to perform a biopsy—nearly 64.7 percent of prostate cancers were missed!
But in that same group of men, the PCA3 test missed only 32 percent of prostate cancers!
Lead study researcher Monique Roobol recommended further clinical trials to ensure test stability and validity.
And when it does become widely available—it's a sure bet that most men will gladly sacrifice a small cup of urine to know whether their prostate is cancer free!
I wish I could tell you that every new "breakthrough" is good, but it ain’t necessarily so. Last week I wrote about a new supplement called StemEnhance. But should you take it? If you missed that article in our newsletter last week, please scroll down and read it now.
Best regards,
Lee Euler,
Publisher
