New blood test for prostate cancer is 94% accurate, researchers say

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 when the test was combined with a standard prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, more cases could be detected.

The team published their findings in the journal Cancers and said the PSA test, which is currently widely used across the NHS, lacks sufficient accuracy, resulting in numerous unnecessary prostate biopsies in men without cancer and “false reassurance in some men with cancer”. lead.

The researchers developed a new chromosome test that can detect cancer signals and combined it with the regular PSA test.

A pilot study involving 147 patients evaluated the new test, called PSE, and found that it significantly improved detection of the disease.

All of the men in the study had prostate cancer and the test was 94% accurate.

The next stage of 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 may greatly 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 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, along with physical exams, 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 have a prostate biopsy because of an elevated PSA level will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“There were therefore efforts to develop a new blood test with greater accuracy.

“When the PSE test is tested in the context of screening an at-risk population, it provides a rapid and minimally invasive prostate cancer diagnosis with impressive performance. This indicates a real benefit for both diagnostic and screening purposes.”

dr Jon Burrows, Chief Executive at Oxford Biodynamics, said: “There is a clear need in daily 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 previously do so unnecessary, subject to expensive and invasive procedures.”

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