Instead of costly tests at the clinics, a simple urine test at home may soon help you diagnose prostate cancer.
The new tool, currently under development for prostate cancer detection, can use urine samples collected at home, said a research from University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
This could revolutionize diagnosis. The test can also predict whether patients will require treatment up to five years earlier than standard clinical methods. It also means that men don’t have to come into the clinic to provide a urine sample — or have to undergo an uncomfortable rectal examination.
Scientists pioneered the test which diagnoses aggressive prostate cancer and predicts whether patients will require treatment up to five years earlier than standard clinical methods.
Their latest study shows how the ‘PUR’ test (Prostate Urine Risk) could be performed on samples collected at home, so men don’t have to come into the clinic to provide a urine sample — or have to undergo an uncomfortable rectal examination.
This is an important step forward, because the first urination of the day provides biomarker levels from the prostate that are much higher and more consistent. And the research team hope that the introduction of the ‘At-Home Collection Kit’ could revolutionise diagnosis of the disease.
Prostate cancer usually develops slowly and the majority of cancers will not require treatment in a man’s lifetime. However, doctors struggle to predict which tumours will become aggressive, making it hard to decide on treatment for many men. The common tests now include blood tests, a physical examination known as a digital rectal examination (DRE), an MRI scan or a biopsy.
