Oncourologist himself
A new test allows you to diagnose prostate cancer at home
British scientists have developed a test that allows for early diagnosis of prostate cancer at home by urine analysis. The description is given in the journal BioTechniques (Webb et al., Methodology for the at-home collection of urine samples for prostate cancer detection).
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In most cases, it proceeds slowly and does not require treatment. But sometimes prostate tumors can begin to develop aggressively.
In order not to miss this moment, all patients with a confirmed diagnosis or suspected prostate carcinoma are forced to donate blood every six months and undergo unpleasant physical examinations, including transrectal ultrasound, MRI or biopsy.
Scientists from the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital have developed a Prostate Urine Risk (PUR) test to detect prostate cancer using a simple urine analysis collected at home.
The PUR test checks the expression of certain genes in the morning urine, which allows you to determine the risk of prostate carcinoma at the "high" or "low" level.
"Since the prostate gland secretes constantly, the levels of biomarkers in the urine at the first morning urination are higher and more stable," the university's press release quotes the head of the study Jeremy Clark (Jeremy Clark). "The ability to simply take a urine sample at home and send it for analysis can revolutionize diagnostics."
The authors are confident that the widespread use of the new test will not only involve a much larger number of men in the process of early diagnosis, but also draw conclusions about the need for treatment about five years earlier than now, when the tumor is usually diagnosed at stages III-IV.
To test the effectiveness of the development, the researchers provided a test kit to 14 volunteer participants. Then they compared the test results with the data of a finger rectal examination.
"We found that the tests taken at home showed biomarkers of prostate cancer not worse, but even better than the results of rectal examination. And the feedback from the participants also showed that the test at home is preferable for them," says Dr. Clark.
The PUR test, according to scientists, can be used not only to detect, but also to control the progression of the disease.
"The PUR test accurately predicts how aggressive the tumor is and whether the patient will need treatment in the next five years. Therefore, if the test result is negative, a second examination can be carried out no earlier than in two or three years. This makes the patient's life easier and removes unnecessary burden from medical institutions," the head of the study emphasizes.
The authors note that the development of their methodology will help to create similar tests for home diagnosis of bladder and kidney cancer.
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