November 4, 2024
A simple blood test to detect prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death in older men. However, the life expectancy of 90 per cent of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer at stage 1 or 2 is 15 years or more.
A new test, developed by researchers at Aston University, analysed dried blood samples to assess the protein structures of volunteers.
Using a technique known as polarisation-based image reconstruction, scientists examined how proteins in the blood change their 3D shape and join together during the early stages of prostate cancer.
By doing this they were able to identify the difference between healthy and cancerous samples.
One of the scientists behind the method says it was able to identify cancerous samples — before symptoms had appeared — with up to 90 per cent accuracy.
Professor Igor Meglinski, from the university’s Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, said: “This breakthrough opens new avenues for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, representing a substantial leap forward in personalised medicine and oncology.
“By enabling earlier and more accurate detection, our blood test has the potential to significantly improve outcomes and survival rates for many patients.”
Scientists also said that, by using dried blood, the new technique will be a lot less invasive for patients compared with traditional methods, such as an examination of the prostate gland or a biopsy.
Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, which was not involved in the study, said more work was needed on the tests.
“The big issue is proving that these tests are better than what we have already. So far, this has been tested on a relatively small number of samples, so we’ll need to see more research before we can know how effective it will be.”
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