Approximately 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. It is estimated that 30% of men between the ages of 45-80 are screened for prostate cancer each year, just in the USⁱ. The gold standard screening test currently on the market detects the prostate specific antigen (PSA). However, the expression of PSA is also up-regulated in patients with benign diseases, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which significantly reduces the specificity in diagnosing prostate cancer. Researchers at The University of Queensland have identified novel splice variants and extended open reading frames of the PCA3 gene which are over-expressed by prostate cancers. Results to date indicate that BPH and normal prostate tissues lack expression of these transcripts, providing enhanced specificity for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The discovery has led to the development of a simple PCR based test which is capable of accurately detecting these splice variants and transcripts in prostatic (seminal) fluid and urine.

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