Beckman Coulter UK is hosting a urology symposium focusing on the early detection of prostate cancer, and the need to reduce unnecessary biopsies, on 14 April at London’s Wellcome Collection Conference Centre. The company recently launched a new assay (p2PSA) for the measurement of a cancer-associated isoform of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum. This isoform, when used in conjunction with Hybritech total PSA and Hybritech free PSA measurements, has been shown to provide greater specificity in the management of patients with raised PSA and can significantly reduce the number of prostate biopsies required.
The audience will hear the clinical experiences of urology departments in Europe where the
p2PSA marker and the Prostate Health Index (phi) have already been introduced. As Sherry Faye,
head of scientific marketing, EMEAI, Beckman Coulter Eurocenter, explained: “While the level
of PSA at initial screening is highly indicative of prostate cancer being diagnosed later in life,
approximately half of cancers detected in this way are found to be indolent.”
The world’s largest study into the effectiveness of PSA testing on mortality assessment came in March 2009 with the publication of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC).
It reported an initial reduction of at least 20% in mortality, rising to approximately 30% when adjustment was made for those men really screened. However, the study also stressed this was at the risk of high levels of over-diagnosis.