Sydney peptide therapeutics company Peptech (ASX:PTD) has reported positive results from a trial of a prostate cancer diagnostic developed by its joint-venture partner Biosceptre International.

Dr Philippe Stricker, chairman of urology and head of the Department of Uro-Oncology Research Unit at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, said the antibody test was able to distinguish between malignant and non-malignant tumours with a "very high level of accuracy".

He described the test's ability to confidently and easily detect prostate cancer as "impressive", and was encouraging for its potential to provide an accurate diagnostic test for prostate cancer.

Stricker said early-stage prostate cancer was very difficult to detect because of the absence of overt symptom. The monoclonal antibody test detects a very early, generic biomarker for cancer in serum that is expressed by many different cancers, including prostate tumours.

The current diagnostic test for the most common males-only cancer, which detects prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is not always accurate, and may not detect the cancer early enough for effective therapy.

Stricker said the prototype test not only had the potential to serve as an early diagnostic, but to predict whether a patient should undergo surgery or remain under observation.

Under their joint-venture agreement, signed in November 2003 to commercialise Peptech assumed responsibility for developing cancer diagnostic and therapeutics based on Biosceptre's IP. The partners will share revenues equally

Biosceptre's discovery of a generic early-warning marker for solid tumours has potentially wide applications, both as target for diagnostic marker and cancer therapies.