The new cPSA test also reduces the cost of diagnosis by requiring that only a single analyte be tested. The total PSA blood test commonly used for prostate cancer screening does not differentiate among various forms of prostate antigens, making it less specific as a prostate cancer diagnostic tool. Dr. Brawer's presentation revealed the results of a 1998 Northwest Hospital study of 1,200 men age 50 and older with no previous diagnosis of prostate cancer. The study was based on samples from a prostate cancer screening offered free of charge at the Seattle hospital. Both total PSA and cPSA were measured.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men.
About 179,300 American men will learn they have prostate cancer this year, and the disease will kill more than 37,000 American men in 1999, according to the American Cancer Society. The study was funded by a research grant from Bayer. The test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prostate cancer monitoring in May 1998 Northwest Prostate Institute is a Northwest Hospital clinic dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment and research of prostate disease and cancer.