Scientists Develop Cheap, Accurate Test to Predict Prostate Cancer

A test to check the risk of prostate cancer in men has been developed by British scientists.

The breakthrough raises the prospect of millions being screened for the disease in the same way as women are for breast cancer.

Prostate Cancer: Treatment Options - Surgery, Radiation Therapy, Hormone Therapy
Treatment options of prostate cancer includes waiting, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, cryosurgery or biologic therapy.

The test has so far proven to be twice as precise as the current method. It focuses on urine rather than blood, meaning it is cheaper and also has the advantage of dispensing with needles.

The 5.50 pounds kit could be in widespread use in GPs' surgeries in as little as four years.

"This is a vital piece of research that could go a long way to find a long-awaited and much-needed reliable and easy test to identify those men most at risk of developing prostate cancer. If further studies show this can be used in the clinic, this will be a landmark discovery," the Daily Mail quoted David Neal of the Cambridge Research Institute as saying.

Prostate Specific Antigen [PSA] & Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
PSA blood test is specific to prostate gland but not necessarily a cancer specific test but is commonly used to diagnose prostate cancer.

In developing the new test, scientists from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute and the Institute of Cancer Research used results of genetic studies to link low levels of the microseminoprotein-beta protein (MSMB) with signs of the disease.

Researcher Hayley Whitaker said that initial studies suggest that the test is twice as accurate as the current one.

Prostate Cancer | Cancer of Prostate - Incidence, Prevention, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
This cancer affects men over the age of 50 years and screening with rectal examination and PSA can help both in early detection and effective treatment

A trial on 1,200 men is under way and would finish by Christmas.

Men found to have low levels of MSMB could then be closely monitored, with the aim of detecting the disease, if it does indeed develop, as early as possible.

Advantages of Eating Fish Foods - Health Benefits
Researchers worldwide have discovered that eating fish regularly is good for health. Regular consumption of fish may reduce the risk of diseases such as asthma, prostate cancer and eyesight.

In addition, it may also help doctors more accurately distinguish between the more common, slow-growing forms of the disease from the more dangerous, faster-growing varieties.

Whitaker, lead of the study said: "We looked in the tissue and urine of over 350 men with and without prostate cancer to find out how much MSMB they had. The protein is easy to detect because it is found in urine and would potentially be a very simple test to carry out on men to identify those most at risk of developing the disease."

Kate Holmes, of the Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "Given the known limitations of the PSA blood test, finding a technique to accurately diagnose prostate cancer is the holy grail of research into the disease, which is why these results are potentially exciting.

"However, further research is needed to determine how effective the detection of MSMB in the urine is for predicting the risk of, and potentially even diagnosing, prostate cancer."

Source-ANI