New test for prostate cancer

"A new genetic test for prostate cancer with the potential to transform the way the disease is detected and monitored was launched in the UK.
The test, the first of its kind, measures the activity of a gene closely linked to prostate cancer.
Doctors hope it will make diagnosis of the disease more accurate and reduce the unnecessary removal of tissue samples.
About 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK and 10,000 die from the disease.
Currently the standard diagnostic tool is the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which looks for raised levels of a protein in the blood that leaks out of the prostate gland.
But the PSA test is notorious for providing misleading results. Men with cancer might have low PSA scores, while others with benign conditions have high readings.
The uncertainty of the PSA test has led doctors to nickname it the "Producer of Stress and Anxiety" test.
The new test measures a genetic chemical, messenger RNA, which transfers DNA "instructions" from the PCA3 gene.
Elevated scores are only produced when prostate cancer is present, making the test highly specific."