A new urine test might help doctors detect prostate cancer and better evaluate a patient’s treatment options, researchers say. “This is a tool that men and their physician can use to help them decide whether it’s appropriate to get a biopsy now or delay that decision,” said lead researcher Dr. Scott Tomlins, a pathology resident at the University of Michigan Health System. The test looks for two genetic markers associated with prostate cancer. The first, called TMPRSS2:ERG, is caused by two genes changing places and fusing together; it is thought to cause prostate cancer. Since the gene fusion is only seen in about half of cancer patients, the test also looks for another marker, called PCA3.
