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New PCA3 test more accurate than PSA test What is this ?

 
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chrisz
Regular


Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 43
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:09 pm    Post subject: New PCA3 test more accurate than PSA test Reply with quote
Testing for the PCA3 gene in urine may be more accurate than the PSA test at predicting whether a repeat biopsy would show cancer.


www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/site/c.itIWK2OSG/b.2625861/k.F550/Urine_Test_May_Improve_Prostate_Cancer_Screening.htm?msource=apr07np&auid=2553965


Sorry for the long link. Copy and paste it !!


I hope it's true.


Chrisz
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rlee
Site Admin


Joined: 15 Jan 2006
Posts: 245
PostPosted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:55 pm    Post subject: Re: New PCA3 test more accurate than PSA test Reply with quote
Interesting. Let's hope that future studies will confirm this. Thanks for the link.
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Any information provided is NOT intended to provide specific medical advice to users but rather to provide users with information to help them better understand their health condition and related care. All readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified physician for answers to their personal medical questions.
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kzimm
Regular


Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2007 4:50 pm    Post subject: PCA3 test Reply with quote
Hi. I'm new to the forum (first post) and will undergo radical prostatectomy in early June.

I was chasing a high PSA since I turned 50 (now 53). I'd had a high level (9+) with an unfavorable free/total ratio. An initial 8 biopsy samples showed one with atypia. A followup of 20 samples showed no others. A year later, still with high PSA and bad ratio, I had an additional 30 samples with no positives or atypia. After a regimen of Cipro, my PSA came down to 6 within 6 months and after a year, was down to 4, but still with a bad ratio. My urologist recommended the PCA3 test. Bostwick Labs has the patent on this, and they state that a level of 35 or over is cause for concern. My level was 179 - which hadn't yet been seen, at least locally. Given that this test has a specificity of 97%, we were more confident than ever that cancer was present, so another set of biopsies was ordered (10 samples), one of which came back positive with a Gleason score of 3+3, and two suspicious samples.

Since this test is so specific, I can't help but think that it will spare many from needless biopsies in the future. And for anyone getting negative biopsy results but with troublesome Free/Total PSA ratios, as a layman I would highly recommend requesting this simple urine test. As undesireable as a positive biopsy is, I was relieved to know that we have found the culprit and can now address it.
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