Several members of my family have been stricken with prostate cancer. In order to stay informed, I've been following prostate cancer news, and in fact, when consulting with a specialist, I knew of a test he hadn't even heard of called EPCA-2 or "Early Prostate Cancer Antigen".

The traditional prostate cancer test, the PSA test (prostate-specific antigen), is a less-than-reliable indicator for prostate cancer. Many doctors don't recommend it to younger patients simply because of the concern and worry it creates in potential patients because it can show elevated numbers even in healthy people.

The promise of EPCA-2 was that it would produce much more reliable early detection of prostate cancer.

Last time I saw my urologist (about two years ago), he looked into it and responded that it was too early for clinical use, but by the time I should be screened (at age 40-- he recommended against screening until then) it might just be available.

Well this morning, I found the following news article: Pitt, Johns Hopkins scientist sued over prostate cancer research. The synopsis is that the researcher is being sued for fraud, and EPCA-2 may be "no more accurate in distinguishing cancerous tissue from normal tissue than flipping a coin".

If the allegations are true, count me as one of the duped victims who has been following nearly every article about EPCA-2 for several years now.