Worldwide, prostate cancer is the 2nd most frequent cancer and it’s the 5th leading cause of death from cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer develops when abnormal cells form and grow in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer can spread to nearby organs and tissues or other parts of the body.
Risk factors for cancer include older age, family history, and genetics. Lifestyle and environmental risks are still being researched. However, like many cancers, doctors recommend maintaining a healthy weight, exercise, and refraining from smoking.
The good news is that there is a new test called MyProstateScore 2 (MPS2). It is available through physicians. It is a urinary biomarker test designed to help differentiate between men who should proceed to biopsy after an elevated PSA test and those who can safely wait. The test only requires a urine sample. Two genes, TMPRSS2:ERG and PCA3 are specific for prostate cancer and they are rarely present at high levels in the urine of men without prostate cancer.
Arul M Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD and fellow researchers at the University of Michigan, as well as collaborators at other institutions, were the first scientists to identify biomarkers with new molecules at levels that only high-grade cancers make. Then they developed the new urinary test with 17 markers of cancer.
