Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Blood Test May Help Spot Prostate Cancer

A new way of using blood tests to screen for early prostate cancer could save many patients the discomfort, cost and worry of getting biopsies to detect the common malignancy, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The new process involves periodic blood tests to compare levels of a substance called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, which is often elevated in men with prostate disease. Doctors now look for early prostate disease either by a single PSA reading or by trying to feel for lumps in the prostate gland.