News
News
Lunch-hour test for prostate cancer
Channel 4 - 06/10/08
A lunch-hour fingerprick test for suspected prostate cancer was launched on Monday.
The new blood test can assess a man’s level of the cancer marker Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) in just 10 minutes.
Usually men have to wait several days for the results of a PSA test, causing inconvenience and worry.
Raised PSA does not necessarily signify prostate cancer but may suggest the need for further investigation. GPs will refer men to specialists if their PSA readings are suspicious, taking into account their age and family history.
A ’normal’ PSA level is usually considered to be less than four nanograms per millilitre of blood. Measuring PSA level also provides a vital way of monitoring the progress of prostate cancer in diagnosed patients. PSA is a protein that leaks out of the prostate gland when it is damaged.
The new test, called PSAWatch, needs only a small drop of blood from a fingerprick which is then analysed using a portable machine. Conventional tests require a syringe full of blood which has to be sent to a laboratory.
Dr Tim Larner, consultant urologist at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: ’We have come to rely heavily on the PSA test for prostate cancer screening in the UK, and it forms an important part of the specialist referral criteria used by GPs.
"This test will be invaluable for patients who have active surveillance of their PSA levels or for patients who need regular monitoring of disease progression or success of treatment. For these patients, any delay can cause extreme anxiety and unnecessary distress."
The test, which costs around 40, is being made available throughout the UK but not yet on the NHS.
Manufacturers MediWatch plc, of Rugby, Warwickshire, last year launched a more accurate diagnostic urine test called PCA3Plus which detects a different molecular marker of prostate cancer