A potentially revolutionary new prostate cancer test could be more effective than the existing assessment method.
A newly developed spit test, which can be performed at home without a visit to the doctor, can analyze genetic variants in DNA and appears to offer more accurate predictions of one’s risk of prostate cancer compared to existing methods.
The ground-breaking test could provide a new tool to detect and help treat prostate cancer earlier.
Currently, a blood test known as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is the method used by physicians to identify potential prostate cancer. However, some critics of the assessment say widespread use of this testing method could result in identified cases that have not caused any issues and do not justify potentially aggressive treatment.
However, experts believe the new saliva test could provide an additional screening tool.
Compared to the PSA, the new test produced fewer false positive results and was more effective at identifying a higher proportion of aggressive cancers for which treatment would be warranted.
Called a polygenic risk score, researchers in the United Kingdom aimed to assess the new method’s effectiveness in the study. The test examines an individual’s spit sample to review 130 genetic variants that are known to be linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer.
The trial examined 6,300 men aged 55 to 69 in the U.K. Of that group, 745, or 12%, were found to have a high polygenic risk score. This filtered group was then invited to undergo a prostate cancer screening, which included an MRI and biopsy, with 468 accepting the offer.
Nearly 40% of this group, 187 men, were found to have prostate cancer, with 103 considered to possess an elevated risk. Notably, according to the researchers, under the standard prostate cancer diagnosis process in the UK, 74 of these men would not have had their cancer detected.
“With this test, it could be possible to turn the tide on prostate cancer,” said Professor Ros Eeles, from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, per the BBC.
“We can identify men at risk of aggressive cancers who need further tests and spare the men who are at lower risk from unnecessary treatments,” said Eeles.