Saliva Test May Turn Tide On Prostate Cancer, Claim Scientists

A saliva trial whitethorn thief "turn nan tide" connected prostate cancer, UK scientists claim.

It analyses men's DNA to activity retired who was calved pinch nan top consequence of processing nan disease.

Targeting them for prostate biopsies and MRI scans discovered immoderate fierce cancers that would different person gone unnoticed.

However, nan trial has not yet been proven to prevention lives and experts opportunity it will beryllium "years" earlier specified tests could beryllium utilized routinely.

Around 12,000 men successful nan UK dice from prostate crab each year.

Calls for nan regular testing of patient men - known arsenic screening - person grown louder since Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy announced he had terminal prostate cancer.

Screening has been rejected successful nan past because utilizing nan existent trial - which looks for levels of prostate circumstantial antigen (PSA) successful nan humor - risks causing much harm than good.

This saliva trial does not look for signs of prostate crab wrong nan body.

Instead it looks for 130 mutations successful men's DNA, each of which tin summation nan consequence of prostate cancers developing.

In nan study, scientists tested men aged 55-69 and calculated their risk. Men successful nan apical 10% of scores were invited for further investigations. This included a biopsy and an MRI scan.

The study, published successful nan New England Journal of Medicine, showed:

• Out of 745 men pinch a precocious score, 468 were prepared to person nan other tests
• 187 were recovered to person prostate cancer
• 103 were higher consequence tumours that needed treatment, 74 of these would not person been discovered astatine this shape pinch existent tests

"With this test, it could beryllium imaginable to move nan tide connected prostate cancer," said Prof Ros Eeles, from nan Institute of Cancer Research, London.

"We tin place men astatine consequence of fierce cancers who request further tests and spare nan men who are astatine little consequence from unnecessary treatments," she added

Dheeresh Turnbull, who is 71 and from Brighton, took portion successful nan trial.

He discovered he was successful nan highest consequence class contempt having nary family history of prostate cancer. Further introspection showed he had cancer.

"I was wholly shocked, I would ne'er person been diagnosed astatine this shape if I hadn't joined nan trial."

His younger relative was past invited to return portion successful nan study and besides discovered he had an fierce tumour.

"It's unthinkable to deliberation that because of this study 2 lives person now been saved successful my family," Dheeresh said.

However, nan trial is not fresh to beryllium rolled out.

Prof Dusko Ilic, from King's College London, said it was "promising" but improved crab discovery "only modestly" erstwhile utilized alongside existent consequence factors specified arsenic age, PSA levels and MRI scans.

And he said location was still "no nonstop evidence" of it improving endurance aliases value of life, which meant much studies were needed.

The investigation besides focused group of European ancestry and activity is still nether measurement to accommodate it for group from different backgrounds. Black men are thought to person double nan consequence of prostate cancer.

The investigation squad besides opportunity location are questions astir cost-effectiveness, imaginable harms and nan champion clip to analyse nan risk.

The saliva trial will go portion of nan pivotal Transform trial which is trying to observe nan champion measurement of introducing prostate crab screening successful nan UK.

Prof Michael Inouye, from nan University of Cambridge, said he believes we will look backmost connected this study "as a landmark" that made nan lawsuit for utilizing genetics to measure risk.

But he added: "This is simply a large measurement on nan way to objective implementation, but it is still a agelong road."

He said it will "likely beryllium years" earlier nan NHS utilized specified a test.