一種檢測前列腺癌的新型血液檢測方法顯示：其敏感性和特異性都要明顯高于當(dāng)前使用的PSA（前列腺特異抗原）方法。

BioCurex公司推出了這項檢測技術(shù)。該公司認(rèn)為：這種稱為Recafe的檢測方法使用單克隆抗體，比傳統(tǒng)的抗血清檢測方法更優(yōu)越。單克隆抗體特異性更強(qiáng)，各批次試驗具有一致性，而且易于生產(chǎn)。PSA檢測并不是一個篩查無癥狀前列腺癌男性患者的合適指標(biāo)，但是由于缺乏更好的檢測方法，它仍然被用于常規(guī)檢查。

聯(lián)合使用PSA與Recafe檢測能夠消除單獨使用PSA方法所產(chǎn)生的假陽性。PSA具有將問題定位于前列腺的優(yōu)勢，而Recaf能夠確定PSA水平增高是否由于癌引起的。這種聯(lián)合檢測還能夠?qū)ecaf方法引入市場，因為PSA檢測太普遍了。

BioCurex公司執(zhí)行總裁Moro博士指出：“這種改良的檢測使用單克隆抗體技術(shù)，該技術(shù)使得Milstein和Kohler獲得了1984年度的諾貝爾獎”。該公司計劃將其Recafe技術(shù)授權(quán)給多家健康保健公司。

Blood Test for Prostate Cancer
 
A new blood test for prostate cancer has exhibited greater sensitivity and much higher specificity than current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests.

The test, called Recafe, uses monoclonal antibodies and offers many advantages over the conventional antiserum test. Monoclonals are more specific, are very consistent from one batch to another, and are easy to produce, stated BioCurex, Inc. (Richmond, Canada), which developed the technology. The PSA test is not a suitable marker to screen asymptomatic men for prostate cancer, but for lack of a better test, it is used in regular checkups.

Combining the PSA and Recafe tests could eliminate the false-positives resulting from using the PSA test alone. PSA has the advantage of localizing the problem to the prostate and Recaf could then determine if the high PSA value is due to a cancer. This combination would also facilitate the introduction of Recaf into the marketplace since PSA testing is very common.

“This improved test uses monoclonal antibody technology for which Milstein and Kohler received the Nobel prize in 1984,” noted Dr. Moro, CEO of BioCurex. The company plans to license its Recafe technology to healthcare firms.