Scientists found new way of detecting prostate cancer

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in American men as about one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, and 1 in 36 will die of this disease. These harrowing statistics make the early diagnosis of this deadly disease even more crucial, as it has been proven that early detection can help doctors to treat the cancer more effectively and help men live healthier, longer lives.

“Biomarkers that can accurately detect prostate cancer at an early stage and identify aggressive tumors are urgently needed to improve patient care,” stated the study’s lead author Dr. Luke Selth, a Young Investigator of the Prostate Cancer Foundation in the U.S., reported by Medical News Today.

For this study, the researchers recruited 60 men and collected their seminal fluids. In the samples, the team identified microRNAs that helped them detect prostate cancer. Elevated levels of microRNAs indicated prostate cancer. The team also discovered that one particular microRNA, called miR-200b helped differentiate between high grade and low-grade tumors.

“This is important because, as a potential prognostic tool, it will help to indicate the urgency and type of treatment required,” explained Dr. Selth.
The researchers stated that finding an accurate prostate cancer test can helped prevent over-diagnosis and overtreatment, which could result from the PSA test.

“While it is highly specific for tissue of prostatic origin, PSA is not cancer-specific, resulting in many unnecessary biopsies of benign disease. Moreover, PSA screening has resulted in substantial over-diagnosis and over-treatment of indolent tumors without having a significant effect on prostate cancer mortality,” the researchers wrote.

Agencies/Canadajournal