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More than 55,000 new prostate cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK every year, making it the most common cancer for males and the second most common cancer in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK. However, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test currently used to detect it is notoriously unreliable and isn’t accurate enough to be used for a screening programme.
Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge are working on a potentially game-changing blood test that could accurately identify whether prostate cancer is present, how aggressive it is and whether a patient will need treatment.
The new test spots cellular debris that tumours release known as DNA methylation markers. Previously, scientists were unable to check for these markers as they appeared in such miniscule quantities.
This new test will look for multiple signals at once, allowing doctors to see if cancer is present and how dangerous it could be.
Men who have already used the PSA test may also be able to use the new blood test to find answers if their levels were high without having to undergo biopsy procedures, according to the Telegraph.
The current PSA test that is available can sometimes flag false positives or slow-growing cancers that don’t affect a person’s life expectancy or health. These results can cause untold stress and result in unnecessary tests to confirm.
Additionally, the test can also miss aggressive cancers. The unreliable nature of PSA tests is what’s prevented the NHS from being able to roll out a screening programme.
The Cambridge team is currently testing the accuracy of the new blood test using samples taken from over 1,000 men from Europe and Africa.
The samples were donated to researchers up to 30 years ago and the team will be doing follow-up work to see if donors went on to develop cancer.
The researchers plan to begin clinical trials in within the next two years. At first, they will be checking at which point in the screening process the blood test would best be used during.
Dr Harveer Dev of the university’s Early Cancer Institute, the lead researcher, said: “We don’t have the right combination of tests in order to be able to deliver for patients in the right way (at the moment). Although we’re still in the development phase [of the new blood test], we’re getting really promising results.”
Dr Naomi Elster, director of research at Prostate Cancer Research, which supports the study, said: “While many lives have been saved through picking up cancers with our current methods, there absolutely is space for even more accurate tools.
“Dr Dev is working on a very clever new test, which can pick up changes in whether some genes have been switched on or switched off. This not only tells us if the cancer is there. It could also tell us how dangerous the cancer is – vital information to make sure it is treated in the right way.”
Men with symptoms of prostate cancer, such as changes to the way they pee or blood in their urine, can request PSA tests from their GP.
