by Researchers have developed a new blood test for prostate cancer that they say is 94% accurate.
Oxford BioDynamics, in collaboration with Imperial College and the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that by combining the test with a standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, more cases could be detected.
Publishing their findings in the journal Cancers, the team said the PSA test currently widely used in the NHS is not accurate enough, resulting in numerous unnecessary prostate biopsies in men without cancer and “false reassurance in some men with cancer.” “.
Researchers developed a new chromosome test that can detect signs of cancer and combined it with the regular PSA test.
A pilot study of 147 patients evaluated the new test, called PSE, and found that it significantly improved disease detection.
All of the men in the study had prostate cancer and the test was 94% accurate.
The next stage of the research will be to use the test in a group of men whose cancer status is unknown.
The team wrote: “This new PSE test is accurate, fast, minimally invasive, and inexpensive. If successful in larger trials, it can significantly improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer.”
Professor Dmitry Pshezhetskiy, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, killing a man every 45 minutes in the UK.
“There is currently no single test for prostate cancer, but PSA blood tests are among the most widely used, along with physical exams, MRIs, and biopsies.
“However, PSA blood tests are not routinely used to screen for prostate cancer, as the results may not be reliable.
“Only about a quarter of people who have a prostate biopsy because of an elevated PSA level have prostate cancer.
“Therefore, there has been a push to create a new blood test with greater accuracy.
“When tested in the context of screening an at-risk population, the PSE test produces a rapid, minimally invasive diagnosis of prostate cancer with impressive performance. This suggests a real benefit for both diagnosis and detection.”
Dr Jon Burrows, CEO of Oxford Biodynamics, said: “There is a clear need in daily clinical practice for a highly accurate blood test that can detect prostate cancer in men and accurately identify those who are at risk, while avoiding those who until now would. be subjected to unnecessary, expensive and invasive procedures”.
