Scientists have introduced a new urine test for detecting prostate cancer,that is now being offered in the US.

Till date the doctors had to rely on the traditional prostate cancer screening test that included a blood test that measured prostate specific antigen or PSA. But this test failed to give doctors a complete picture.

The new urine test offered by University of Michigan Health System is called Mi-Prostate Score. The test incorporates three specific markers that could indicate cancer and studies have shown that the combination is far more accurate than PSA alone.

Notably, prostate cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths among males and is linked to family history of the disease and age.

“Many more men have elevated PSA than actually have cancer but it can be difficult to determine this without biopsy. We need new tools to help patients and doctors make better decisions about what to do if serum PSA is elevated. Mi-Prostate Score helps with this,” said Scott Tomlins, assistant professor of pathology and urology at the University of Michigan.

Researchers confirmed the new test on nearly 2,000 urine samples.

As September has been dedicated to create awareness on prostate cancer, experts said early symptoms vary from man to man. One should look for frequent, difficult or painful urination, not being able to urinate, blood in the urine, painful ejaculation or frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs.