A simple urine test may help detect early stage prostate cancer, after Swedish scientists identified a new set of urine-based biomarkers that can accurately detect both the presence and severity of the cancer.
The test developed by scientists at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, whose study was published in Cancer Research, combines artificial intelligence with detailed genetic analysis and could potentially offer an alternative to current PSA testing.
The researchers created digital models of prostate cancer by analysing mRNA activity across all human genes in thousands of individual tumour cells, each classified by cancer grade and location; they used artificial intelligence to examine these models and identify proteins that could act as potential biomarkers.
The biomarkers were tested in blood, prostate tissue and urine samples from nearly 2,000 patients and lead author Martin Smelik told medicalnewstoday. com: “The key finding is that prostate cancer can be effectively identified by analysing the expression of candidate biomarkers in urine.
‘This approach outperforms the current blood tests based on PSA, but at the same time keeps the advantages of being non-invasive, painless and relatively cheap.’
California urologic oncologist Dr Ramkishen Narayanan commented: ‘This paper presents an exciting area of research. With respect to prostate cancer, serum PSA has remained the only reliable ‘biomarker’ for nearly 50 years. We are long overdue for additional biomarkers that can both detect prostate cancer and monitor prostate cancer progression.’
