A blood test for early, high-risk prostate cancer detection

Scientists at UCL led by Dr Anjui Wu and Prof Gert Attard have invented a new test to identify the earliest genetic changes of prostate cancer in blood: a process which could allow doctors to detect high-risk prostate cancer. This successful discovery in blood represents a prostate tissue 'fingerprint', or early circulating biomarker, and when detected identifies that cancer is active and has higher chance of spreading.

Lead clinical scientist Dr Anjui Wu said: "Prostate cancer is a very heterogeneous disease with variable treatment response; however, there is a longstanding problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment." "We urgently need a superior biomarker to pick up specifically high-risk prostate cancer and facilitate clinical decision making."

Moving forward researchers will see if this test could complement or replace the existing prostate specific antigen test, which is used for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. If successful, this blood test can be implemented globally and predict the likelihood of a man having high-risk or aggressive prostate cancer.