New research at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center may point to a better screening test for one of the most common cancers among American men.

Prostate cancer affects about 40 percent of men at the age of 50 and as many as 80 percent by 80 years of age. Regular screenings that include a special blood test called the PSA, or prostate specific antigen, test aid in early detection. However, Carson Wong, MD with OU Physicians Urology, said the PSA test is not as helpful as many had hoped it would be.

“The problem is it (the PSA test) didn't pan out to be the wonderful blood test that we all wanted it to,” explained Wong. “That is because while it is very sensitive, it is not very specific. In other words, it was not only elevated in cancer cases. There are other conditions, such as a simple urinary tract infection, that can also lead to an elevated PSA level.”

In fact, only 25-30 percent of men who have a prostate biopsy due to elevated PSA levels actually have prostate cancer.

In an effort to find a better way to detect prostate cancer at its very earliest stages, Wong and his colleague, Daniel Culkin, MD joined forces with scientist H.K. Lin, PhD and his research team at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

“We see patients who come in with elevated PSA values or pre-screening for prostate cancer,” explained Wong. “We approach them and inform them that the next step is a prostate biopsy. In addition, we ask them if they would allow us to take one test tube of blood from them.”

That blood is the focus of this team’s research. The scientists break down the cells in the blood, release their genetic code and then analyze that code. Wong said what Lin and the team have found is nothing short of amazing. They have uncovered a number of new, never-before-discovered genes that are specific for prostate cancer. In other words, a novel set of genes present in men who have prostate cancer, but not present in those who don’t.

Drs. Lin and Wong said their discovery is the equivalent of being in a large library of genes, finding the right aisle, the right shelf and now the right books. The next step is to find the page and paragraph in those books that will ensure a blood test that will detect most, if not all, cases of prostate cancer.

“Now we have to identify which ones (genes) are slightly bad, which are moderately bad and which are severely bad to help us know which patients upon whom to focus our attention,” Lin explained.

Wong explained we are already using a blood test to screen patients for prostate cancer. “So if we can make that blood test more specific,” he added, “in fact, if we can make it very specific, then I think the health care system, patients and public at large would benefit.”

He said an improved blood test could not only save lives, but also reduce costs to the health care system; and ultimately, eliminate the unnecessary anxiety a false positive on a cancer screening test produces for patients.

“When they first get that phone call or they are sitting in your office and you tell them, ‘sir, you PSA is high,’ it doesn't matter what you tell them after that, cancer is still in their mind,” Wong said. An elevated PSA also often means a prostate biopsy and more frequent follow-up thereafter, according to Wong, which means additional costs and often more anxiety.

“So what we are trying to do is find something that is more specific in that hopefully we can eliminate the subsequent study that we currently have for diagnosing prostate cancer,” he added. “I am optimistic about what we can do from here on out.”

Lin is equally optimistic. “So in essence, we have developed a new prototype,” he said. “Now, we want to make sure that this prototype can be used for the detection of (prostate) cancer. As a scientist, I want to make sure it is actually working, instead of giving it to somebody else. I'd like to develop this in Oklahoma.”

The team’s findings have been published in Molecular Cancer, a scientific cancer journal. Lin said he believes a multi-center scientific trial to validate their findings could be underway within five years and a new screening test for prostate cancer could be available for patients in as little as ten years.