by Playfuls Staff |
27th April 2007
A new discovery newly discovered blood protein may change the
way men are screened for prostate cancer. A
Seattle based biotechnology company, Onconome, announced
the results of a research study conducted at The Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine. [more]
The study relates to a blood protein, ProstaMark EPCA-2
(Early Prostate Cancer Antigen). The simple to use blood test detected an unprecedented
94 percent of men with prostate cancer and correctly identified 97 percent of
men who don't have the disease, according to the Hopkins study.
The study was conducted by Robert H. Getzenberg PhD,
professor of urology and director of research at the James Buchanan Brady
Urological Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was
underwritten by a grant from Onconome, and appeared today in the medical
journal Urology.
In the last year the standard test to detect prostate cancer
has been prostate-specific antigen (PSA). However, it is not highly specific or
sensitive. For example, 80 percent of patients with elevated PSA levels do not
have prostate cancer and 15 percent of patients with normal PSA levels do have
prostate cancer.
By contrast, the research study showed that the EPCA-2 test
is negative in 97 percent of men who do not have prostate cancer and is
positive in 94 percent of men with prostate cancer. "The study also shows
that EPCA-2 levels are highest in patients with non-organ confined prostate
cancer, which is important because cancer that has spread outside of the
prostate is much more deadly," said Dr. Getzenberg.
"As a company committed to discovering and developing
innovative biomarkers for the early and accurate detection of disease, we
appreciate the vast implications of this technology," said Ray Cairncross,
Onconome's CEO and Co-Founder. Onconome has exclusive, worldwide rights to the
technology.
"The results from the Johns Hopkins
University research study
demonstrate that the ProstaMark(R) EPCA-2 test is highly specific and sensitive
to prostate cancer and could greatly reduce the number of unnecessary prostate
biopsies," continued Cairncross. As exclusive licensee, Onconome will
focus on optimizing the blood test for routine clinical use.
Onconome is focused on the discovery, development and
commercialization of innovative biomarkers for the early detection of not only
prostate cancer but also other types of cancer, such as colon.
