THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

Someone asked the sitemaster yesterday about a new test for risk of prostate cancer called Prostac^® and where he could access this.

The simple answer to these questions is that Prostac is a development-stage test for risk of prostate cancer and it is not yet available for prescription for patients.

Indeed, meaningful information about this test is currently minimal to non-existent. The test is being developed by a company called NucleoBio, with personnel who seem to be based in San Antonio and New York and associated with Hunter College of the City University, New York. The company issued a media release in May this year that includes the following, apparently factual, information about the test:

• It is a urine sample-based test.
• It uses gene-based data for the detection of cancer.

However, the media release also includes a spectrum of undocumented claims that your sitemaster will take seriously when there are actual data to support them, starting with the suggestion that this test will

significantly change the way medical professionals administer prostate cancer testing.

Numerous companies developing numerous new tests for the assessment of risk for prostate cancer have made claims like this over the past 30 years. Almost none of them have actually been able to make good on their suggestions.

At this point in time, the sitemaster has been unable to find

• Any actual published data that describes how this test works
• Any actual data suggesting its level of accuracy compared to any other test for risk of prostate cancer
• Any information about an actual clinical trial that might prove its value
• Any published data on PubMed that refers specifically to this product

He should note, however, that he was able to find a small number of published papers that include one of the founders of the company as a co-author and that may refer to the underlying science behind this test.

It is utterly unclear at this time if and when this new test might be available for prescription by a physician or whether it will be able to make good on any of the claims or suggestions in the abovementioned media release.

Filed under: Diagnosis, Risk | Tagged: development, Diagnosis, NucleoBio, Prostac, risk, test |