Current Testing for Prostate Cancer

The current blood test for prostate cancer measures levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The drawback with the PSA test is that it has a high false positive rate (estimated at up to 75%), meaning it picks up many benign conditions of raised PSA levels in the blood - such as enlargement of the prostate or a prostate infection. Even bike riding or sexual activity prior to taking blood samples can elevate PSA levels. This means that many men who have ‘false positive’ tests for prostate cancer undergo unnecessary invasive biopsies with their associated risks. PSA itself is a substance made by normal prostate cells  (NOT prostate cancer cells) and thus its presence cannot confirm that there is prostate cancer. Furthermore PSA can only be measured in blood whereas the Minomic test shows utility in urine.

A Better Test from Minomic

There is a need for a better test and the Minomic product has the potential to be such a test. The Minomic test is based on measuring the protein we have discovered that is only present on the surface of cancer cells. This is in contrast to PSA, which measures an increased level of an existing protein produced by the healthy prostate. The Minomic protein is not raised by enlargement of the prostate, bike riding, sexual activity or a prostate infection etc. Finally the Minomic test will be in a format that can be delivered in current pathology labs or specialists surgeries to encourage rapid market adoption.

Minomic is currently working to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the test and it is anticipated that this work will be completed in 2011. Early analysis using known prostate cancer urine samples and immunofluorescence testing, with the Minomic antibody, has given us confidence that we can get greater than 85% specificity and sensitivity. At present we are unaware of any competing approach in the marketplace today.