A new blood test can detect prostate cancer with 94% accuracy

A new blood test promises to detect prostate cancer with 94% accuracy and without forcing a man to perform a touch test. Called the Prostate Screening EpiSwitch (PSE), it is far superior to PSA (prostate-specific antigen), one of the least invasive diagnostic methods.

The exam is under development Oxford Biodynamics is collaborating with the University of East Anglia in the UK, and the researchers note the results:

“This new PSE test is accurate, rapid, minimally invasive and inexpensive. If successful in larger studies, it could significantly improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer,” the authors wrote in a study published in the journal Cancers.

How does it work?

The test is a combination of PSA technology and the EpiSwitch epigenetic test, which is what increases the reliability of the test.

147 patients participated in the pilot study. When comparing the results of the standard PSA test, the scientists found that the PSE was much more accurate in identifying men with prostate cancer.

The results showed about 92% for sensitivity and 4% for specificity, that is, the technique gives accurate results for negative or positive exams.

For Dmitry Przezhetsky, one of the researchers involved in the study, the test could bring greater reliability to most of the tests currently conducted to diagnose prostate cancer.

“There is currently no single test for prostate cancer, but PSA blood tests are among the most widely used, along with physical exams, MRI scans and biopsies,” he said.

Dmitry added about the diagnosis of the disease. “PSA blood tests are not usually used to detect prostate cancer because the results can be unreliable.”

According to the researcher, only about a quarter of men who have a prostate biopsy with an elevated PSA level are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

With the first tests already carried out and positive results, the researchers will now apply the study to a group of men whose cancer status is unknown.

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Prostate cancer

In Brazil, prostate cancer is the third most common tumor, after skin and breast cancer. More common in men, the evolution of the disease is silent, but some symptoms can help the diagnosis.

Check out some of the symptoms of prostate cancer. And remember to seek emergency medical help in case of these signs.

• Difficulty urinating;
• delay in the initiation or completion of urination;
• Decreased urinary tract;
• The need to urinate more often during the day or at night;
• The need to urinate more often during the day or at night;
• The presence of blood in the urine

Prostate evaluation is based on two tests.

• Rectal palpation, where the doctor can feel whether or not there may be a hard nodule, and PSA;
• A blood test called PSA, based on the amount of prostate antigen protein produced by the prostate gland alone, may or may not indicate a risk for the disease.

45 year old men

The Brazilian Society of Urology (SBU) recommends regular consultations and a PSA test at least once a year for men in the risk group.

Examinations should be performed from the age of 45, if there was no family member with the disease.

Remembering that this type of tumor it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide, second only to lung cancer.

The good news is that early detection can help treat and save a man with prostate cancer.

According to the information of the Ministry of Health and the EAEU