Unmasking A Stealthy Cancer

A simple blood test can boost the detection of prostate tumors

More than any other malignancy, cancer of the prostate has a reputation for stealth. While 122,000 American men were diagnosed with the disease last year -- making it the leading cancer among men -- 70% of those tumors had already managed to spread beyond the gland and into the rest of the body without being detected. Frustrated surgeons have long hoped for a test that could pick up more of these cancers before they become inoperable. Now they may have got their wish. Researchers reported in last week's New England Journal of Medicine that a new method could potentially spot 20%...

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