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 more cases could be detected when the test was combined with a standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
The team published their findings in the journal Cancers and said the PSA test currently widely used in the NHS is not sufficiently accurate, resulting in numerous unnecessary prostate biopsies in men without cancer and “false reassurance in some men with cancer”.
The researchers developed a new chromosomal test that can pick up cancer signals 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 detection of the disease.
All the men in the study had prostate cancer and the test was 94% accurate.
The next phase of the study 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 could significantly improve prostate cancer diagnosis.”
Professor Dmitry Pshezhetskiy, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, killing one man every 45 minutes in the UK.
“There is currently no single test for prostate cancer, but PSA blood tests are among the most commonly used, alongside physical examinations, MRI scans and biopsies.
“However, PSA blood tests are not routinely used to screen for prostate cancer because the results can be unreliable.
“Only about a quarter of people who undergo a prostate biopsy for elevated PSA are found to have prostate cancer.
“There has therefore been a drive to create a new blood test with greater accuracy.
“When used to screen an at-risk population, the PSE test provides a rapid and minimally invasive diagnosis of prostate cancer with impressive performance. This suggests a real benefit for both diagnostic and screening purposes.”
Dr. Jon Burrows, CEO of Oxford Biodynamics, said: “There is a clear need in everyday clinical practice for a highly accurate blood test that can screen men for prostate cancer and accurately identify those at risk, while sparing those who would hitherto doing. being subjected to unnecessary, expensive and invasive procedures.”