A blood test that detects the body’s natural defense against malignant cells may help doctors spot prostate cancer more accurately, a new report said. The new test, if proven accurate in further studies, might replace the current diagnostic that is wrong up to 80 percent of the time. In a study reported in the Sept. 22 New England Journal of Medicine, the new test correctly spotted 82 percent of prostate tumors. It rightly ruled out cancer 88 percent of the time. The experimental test can be conducted using the same blood sample provided for the current so-called PSA diagnostic exam, said Kenneth J. Pienta, professor of medicine and urology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Two more years of testing is needed to confirm its accuracy, said Pienta, whose collaborators developed the test.
