This diagnostic technology was invented by Dr. Mark Stearns at Drexel University.

Immunological studies have shown a mutated form of PCADM-1 is expressed only in prostate cancer tissues and antibodies designed to target this protein can successfully detect prostate cancer, making it a very specific diagnostic marker.

The level of expression of PCADM-1 was found to correspond to the Gleason Score thus making it an ideal marker for preliminarily staging of prostate cancer prior to biopsy.

Unlike most other existing prostate cancer markers PCADM-1 is capable of detecting both androgen negative (AR-) and androgen positive (AR+) cells, facilitating more targeted therapy.

In an initial blinded clinical study conducted on urine samples of 533 subjects PCADM-1 demonstrated 83% specificity for prostate cancer.

Ongoing research is being conducted by Dr. Fatatis’ research team at Drexel University’s School of Medicine.

• PCADM-1 is expressed in its mutated form only by prostate cancer cells and not by normal cells of the prostate, making it a highly specific marker
• The levels of PCADM-1 in prostate tumors are proportionally related to the Gleason Score in contrasts to PSA
• A blinded study carried out with 533 patients showed that the PCADM-1 urine assay had a specificity of 83% for prostate cancer

The findings from this scientific study were published in Clinical Cancer Research and can be viewed here.

Currently scientific studies are being conducted at Drexel University with the following aims:

• Optimize antibodies against PCADM-1
• Further establish the efficacy of of prostate cancer detection using these antibodies both in vitro and in vivo
• Extend preliminary observations concerning the relationship between expression of PCADM-1 and androgen receptor in prostate cancer cells

As a further extension of our scientific investigation we are planning on initiating a clinical study on human subjects for establishing the sensitivity and specificity of using PCADM-1 as a marker for prostate cancer and compare its performance with other existing prostate cancer diagnostic tests.