Scientists have come up with a new tool which might help to predict a man’s genetic risk of developing prostate cancer.
The test can help predict which men would benefit from screening for the disease, researchers said.
At present men over the age of 50 can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test which could indicate prostate problems, including prostate cancer.
But the test is not routinely given to all men as it may lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment of some patients who may not have needed intense cancer therapy.
Over 333,000 families are living with a prostate cancer diagnosis in the UK. Know the symptoms. https://t.co/P7FTH3Z0v7 @ProstateUK Call the specialist nurses on 0800 074 8383 pic.twitter.com/jdFXb6Qege
— NHS Stockport CCG (@NHSStockportCCG) December 29, 2017
Now experts have come up with a new tool which they say may help guide decisions about whether and when to screen for prostate cancer.
The new study, published in The BMJ, saw researchers develop and test a genetic tool to predict age of onset of aggressive prostate cancer and to guide decisions of who to screen and at what age.
They analysed over 200,000 gene variants – known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNP – from 31,747 European men who did and did not have prostate cancer.
Scientists, led by researchers from the Centre for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics in California, in the US, identified 54 associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
They then used these to develop a genetic risk score which could help predict the age of diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer.
The authors concluded: “The score is a relatively inexpensive assessment of an individual man’s age specific risk and provides objective information on whether a given patient might benefit from PSA screening.”
They added: “As the score is representative of a man’s fixed genetic risk, it can be calculated once, long before onset of prostate cancer, and substantially inform the decision of whether he should undergo prostate cancer screening.”
Dr Matthew Hobbs, deputy director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Although the results are interesting, to make a real difference the test would have to be able to identify men at higher risk of prostate cancer before the age of 50 so that they know to request the PSA test early, or men at no risk at all after the age of 50, so that they can forego the test altogether. At the moment, the findings do not indicate that this is possible.”
