End to 120,000 Needless Biopsies Seen in New Prostate Cancer Test
A new blood test for prostate cancer could eliminate 120,000 needless biopsies a year in the United States, researchers say.
“By eliminating these biopsies, you’re not only going to save money, but you’re going to spare men the anxiety of a false alarm and the discomfort of going through an unnecessary procedure,” said Dr. William J. Catalona, director of urologic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is lead author of a study published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Assn.
The new test, approved in March, measures blood levels of “free” prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland. The traditional PSA test, used since the early 1990s, measures the protein in a different form.
The new test does not replace traditional PSA testing; it is given as a follow-up when the traditional PSA test yields uncertain results.
Previously, the only way to resolve the uncertainty was to do a biopsy, even though only 25% of men in the uncertain range have prostate cancer.
Free-PSA testing could eliminate the need for about one-fifth of all prostate biopsies performed in the United States each year, Catalona said. At $1,200 for a biopsy versus $65 for a free-PSA test, the test could save $136 million a year.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. men and the second-deadliest, behind lung cancer. This year, 184,500 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 39,200 will die from it, the American Cancer Society estimates.
