Warnex Offers New Prostate Cancer Screening Service

Warnex Inc. today announced that its Medical Laboratories division has launched a new screening service for prostate cancer, the PCA3 assay. The Warnex PCA3 screening service for prostate cancer uses advanced PCR technology to detect mRNA from the prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3). Warnex is the first laboratory to offer this service in Canada.

"We are pleased to offer this new prostate cancer screening assay, which is highly specific and more precise than all other available screening tests for the detection of prostate cancer," said Mark Busgang, President and CEO of Warnex. "The addition of this service to Warnex Medical Laboratories' service offering is part of our strategy to focus on specialized medical testing for the healthcare industry using advanced technologies."

The PCA3 test is a molecular biology assay that measures the expression of PCA3 mRNA in urine samples. PCA3 is specific to the prostate and is significantly up-regulated (60-100 fold) in prostate cancer. The test quantitatively measures PCA3 mRNA as well as PSA mRNA and determines their ratio. High ratios have been shown to be indicative of prostate cancer. PCA3 screening may help reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies. In addition, the test is non-invasive, eliminating pain and discomfort associated with biopsies.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian men. According to Canadian Cancer Society, one in 8 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime and one in 27 will die of it. Prostate cancer usually grows slowly and can often be cured or managed successfully.