Blood test could spare men from prostate operation
Breakthrough is tipped to eliminate 90,000 invasive procedures a year
A NEW blood test to detect prostate cancer could be the most accurate yet, sparing tens of thousands of men each year from invasive biopsy procedures.
Experts say the breakthrough has “great promise” in the detection of the disease, the most common cancer among men in Britain.
Currently, men with possible signs of the disease are offered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
However, the tests are unreliable, and as a result, about 150,000 men in the UK every year undergo a tissue biopsy of the prostate to check for tumours.
Fewer than four in 10 will be diagnosed with cancer, meaning about 90,000 operations could be avoided, saving at least £50million, if other methods were more accurate.
Research published in Cancer Medicine suggests a simple blood test, known as liquid biopsy, could offer new hope.
A study involving researchers from India, Imperial College London, and Guy’s Hospital found that in men with suspected prostate cancer, the tests, which work by detecting cells released by malignant growths, were able to correctly identify 91 per cent of cases of the disease, without any false positives.
Earlier this month, a pilot study of 147 men that combined blood tests with PSA tests achieved accuracy rates of 94 per cent.
But the larger study suggests one standalone blood test could be enough to achieve highly accurate results. It comes as the UK National Screening Committee considers whether screening could be routinely offered to men aged 50 and over.
Simon Grieveson, assistant director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “These results show great promise and suggest it may be possible to use this test to detect the cancer in the first place. However, we now need to see this tested in far greater numbers of men before we can determine just how effective it could be.”
Researchers said the Trublood Prostate test, developed by Datar Cancer Genetics, had a high detection capability across all stages of the cancer, but was strongest in the most aggressive types of disease.
Dr Nelofer Syed, of Imperial College, London, the co-author of the study, said :
“A reduced need for biopsies can free up healthcare resources and make them available faster for those with more urgent need.”
In 2021, a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) briefing expressed mixed views about the technology, calling for further trials.
Currently, the test is only available privately, with the Cancer Screening Trust offering it for £1,400.
Dr Richard Tippett, the trust’s clinical lead, said the not-for-profit hopes to embark on further research to validate the data.
He said: “I am very excited by this data. I think it will transform the prostate cancer diagnostic pathway.”