Breakthrough Saliva Test for Prostate Cancer Detects More High-Risk Cases Than Traditional Methods
A new "Polygenic Risk Score" test developed in the UK may revolutionize early prostate cancer detection using a simple home saliva sample.
Watan-A group of researchers has developed a home test for detecting prostate cancer that may outperform current screening methods.
Currently, doctors use MRI scans, biopsies, and a blood test called the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test to detect prostate conditions such as prostate cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia.
However, the developers of the new test—which relies on saliva samples—have stated that it is better than traditional methods for detecting the disease. It reduces the number of false positives and detects a higher proportion of aggressive cancer cases compared to conventional tests.
New Saliva Test Detects Hidden Prostate Cancer Risk
According to The Independent (UK), the new test was developed by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research in London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. They have named it the “Polygenic Risk Score” test.
The test analyzes saliva to assess 130 genetic variants known to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, helping to determine whether a person is at high risk of developing the disease.
Researchers tested the method on 6,300 men aged between 55 and 69 in the UK.
During the study, the test identified around 745 men (12%) as having a high risk of developing cancer.
These men were invited to undergo prostate cancer screening, including an MRI scan and a biopsy. About 468 of them responded to the invitation.
Among those, traditional screening methods detected prostate cancer in 187 men, of which 103 cases were considered “high risk.”
“New PSA Test Detects Aggressive Prostate Cancer Cases Early”
The researchers noted that the cancer “would not have been detected” in a large portion of these participants using the current diagnostic pathway.
They wrote in their study that “the test identified cancer patients who would likely have been missed by traditional methods and detected a higher proportion of aggressive cancer cases.”
Professor Ros Eeles, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a co-author of the study, said: “Thanks to this simple and relatively inexpensive test, we could change the course of prostate cancer and treat it earlier.”
Prostate cancer is among the most common types of cancer in men, although it often grows slowly and may not cause noticeable symptoms in its early stages.
