PSA Test May Help to Detect Breast Cancer

A new study has suggested that the widely known PSA blood test for prostate cancer in men may get a second life as a much-needed new test for breast cancer in women.

According to Chien Chou and colleagues, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measured in the test is a potential biomarker of breast cancer in women.

Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA] & Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
PSA blood test is specific to prostate gland but not necessarily a cancer specific test but is commonly used to diagnose prostate cancer.

However, the levels of PSA in healthy women are usually so small that only ultrasensitive tests can measure them.

To improve PSA detection in women, the researchers built a tiny fiber-optic biosensor using gold nanoparticles and PSA antibodies to detect and report PSA levels via a fluorescent signal.

The biosensor's sensitivity (its ability to detect elevated PSA levels in cases of breast cancer) and its specificity (how well it avoids false predictions of breast cancer) are comparable to those found in using PSA as a biomarker for prostate cancer.

Quiz on Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. It is often said that a woman who breast-feeds is at a lower risk of developing cancer compared to another who does not .Are these mere old wives tales or is there some truth in it? This quiz on breast cancer has all the details.

"Furthermore, these values may compare favorably with the sensitivity and specificity of the current screening methods for breast cancer such as clinical examination and mammogram," said the researchers.

The finding appears in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.

Interesting Facts About Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and in 2020 and nearly 2.3 million breast cancers were diagnosed globally.

Source-ANI

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