Nottingham experts have developed a blood test for prostate cancer which could transform diagnosis and remove the need for invasive and painful biopsies.
It is thought that the test, developed as part of a study involving Nottingham Trent University, could help to avoid up to 70 per cent of prostate biopsies.
A biopsy involves using thin needles inserted through the wall of a man’s rectum or through the skin between the testicles and the back passage to take small samples of tissue from the prostate. The tissue is then looked at under a microscope to check for cancer.
The procedure can cause pain in the days and weeks afterwards, as well as blood in urine or bowel movements.
But the new test, also developed with University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust, works by monitoring the immune system’s response to the presence of cancer.
As well as being able to discount cancer altogether, it has the potential to spare men with no cancer, or low-risk cancer, from having to undergo biopsies and other diagnostic procedures and tests.
Besides saving discomfort, it would also mean significant cash savings for the health service.
The procedure involves determining the profile and status of white cells in the blood. These cells are responsible for protecting the body against infection and cancer.
The presence or absence of cancer can then be determined by analysing the data using a computer programme.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with more than 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year in the UK alone.
The researchers say that, as well as avoiding needless biopsies, it is essential that men with low-risk prostate problems are not diagnosed as having prostate cancer.
Often those with low-grade disease, who may never have symptoms and do not need treatment, become ‘labelled’ as having cancer. This can have serious psychological and financial consequences and assign the men to unnecessary life-long medical checks.
Video: Notts TV visited the John van Geest centre in February 2017 as scientists began growing prostate cancer cells for research
“Although the current blood test is commonly used to test for the presence of prostate cancer, it can be relatively non-specific,” said Professor Graham Pockley, Director of Nottingham Trent University’s John van Geest Cancer Research Centre.
“A particular challenge to the clinician is diagnosing the presence of prostate cancer in individuals who do not have symptoms of the disease, but do have a mildly elevated level of PSA in the blood. This study highlights the value of collaborations such as these.
“This test has the potential to spare men with non-cancerous disease or low-risk cancer from unnecessary invasive diagnostic procedures and tests,” said Professor Masood Khan, consultant urologist at University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust and Visiting Professor at Nottingham Trent University.
“The research team is now looking for funding for the next stage of the project, which would involve confirming these results in a larger number of patients and determining whether the same approach can be used to distinguish aggressive from non-aggressive disease.”
The work is reported in the international journal Frontiers in Immunology.
