Fast, Painless, Precise: New Urine Test for Prostate Cancer Screening

Zurich/Schlieren ZH – Researchers at the University of Zurich are developing a urine test for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. To advance the project and organize mass screening, they have founded the spin-off ONTRACK Biomedical.

Biochemist Irina Banzola and urologist Daniel Eberli of the University of Zurich (UZH) have developed a new urine test for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. According to a paper published by the university, this test is designed to detect typical proteins excreted by the prostate gland in the urine. The researchers believe that the test has a high probability of ruling out the presence of cancer. If the test shows a positive result, further tests such as imaging or biopsies are required. Another advantage of the new test is that if the result is negative, no further tests are required and no further resources are tied up.

“Our test has three cut-off values with a very high sensitivity, which means that if the test is negative, patients really don’t have a tumor in 99.9 percent of cases,” Daniel Eberli, Director of the Department of Urology at the University Hospital of Zurich, was quoted as saying in the press release. “The results are presented in a simple way using colors: green, orange and red. Green means the man has no tumor, orange means he may have a low-grade tumor and should discuss this with his doctor, red means he should undergo a biopsy.”

In Switzerland, 7000 men are currently diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, with 1000 deaths. A widespread and complication-free screening could have a preventive effect and reduce the complication rate. In order to bring a mass product to market, the two researchers and other specialists have founded the spin-off ONTRACK Biomedical, based in the Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich. “We will probably enter into a partnership with a larger diagnostics company because they have strong marketing structures. Ultimately, we want to give as many men as possible access to the tests and thus reduce the mortality rate,” says Irina Banzola, CEO of ONTRACK Biomedical.