Molecular Detection of Prostate Cancer with PROGENSA(R) PCA3 (ITV Story)

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most commonly diagnosed malignancy and a leading cause of cancer death in men across the globe. Current practices for detecting PCa utilize serum PSA and DRE as indications for biopsy and identify approximately 25% of patients with PCa. Unfortunately this means that 75% of biopsies are unnecessary, creating a considerable burden in terms of cost and patient discomfort.

PCA3 is a prostate-specific gene that is highly overexpressed in prostate tumors. Prostate cancer cells express 60 to 100 times more PCA3 mRNA than normal cells. The PROGENSA PCA3 test is highly specific and uses Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA) to quantify the PCA3 mRNA in a patient sample. The resulting output is a highly useful PCA3 score that can be used in conjunction with other patient history to more accurately predict biopsy outcomes.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Gen-Probe
• prostate cancer
• pca
• pca3
• PROGENSA
• molecular diagnostics