A highly specific and highly selective method of detecting prostate cancer in a patient comprising: measuring, from a DNA sample obtained from the patient, a methylation value in a regulatory region of each gene of eight genes in the combination of: GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, ITM2C, ID4 and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, GPRC5B, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4 and C9orf125; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; or CYP27A1, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C9orf125. wherein a methylation value in any one of the eight genes of the combination that is greater than the threshold methylation value of the same gene is indicative of prostate cancer, wherein the threshold methylation value represents the highest methylation value in normal patients with an error margin that is a percentage of the difference between the full methylation value (100% methylation) and the highest methylation value in controls, and wherein the percentage is 5%. measuring, from a DNA sample obtained from the patient, a methylation value in a regulatory region of each gene of eight genes in the combination of: GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, ITM2C, ID4 and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, GPRC5B, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4 and C9orf125; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; or CYP27A1, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C9orf125. GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, GPRC5B, ITM2C, ID4 and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, CRYAB, GPRC5B, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, EFS, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; GSTP1, CYP27A1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, CRYAB, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, and ID4; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, ITM2C, ID4 and C9orf125; CYP27A1, EFS, NBL1, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C90rf125; or CYP27A1, NBL1, GPRC5B, WFDC2, VAT1, ITM2C, ID4, and C9orf125. wherein a methylation value in any one of the eight genes of the combination that is greater than the threshold methylation value of the same gene is indicative of prostate cancer, wherein the threshold methylation value represents the highest methylation value in normal patients with an error margin that is a percentage of the difference between the full methylation value (100% methylation) and the highest methylation value in controls, and wherein the percentage is 5%.