Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London have initiated a new study to explore the potentiality of a saliva test to expedite prostate cancer diagnoses and reduce costs for the National Health Service (NHS).
The research team has created a saliva test that calculates prostate cancer risk using DNA. This is known as a genetic risk score.
General practitioners (GPs) will offer the test to their patients. Those identified as high-risk will receive prostate cancer screenings.
The team estimated that the saliva test could lead to the early identification of up to 12,350 individuals with prostate cancer. In addition, it can potentially help save the NHS around £500m each year and save lives.
The £2m study will identify more cases of prostate cancer at an earlier stage when treatment is most effective.
It is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation programme.
The study aims to recruit 1,000 participants with prostate glands including men, non-binary individuals, and trans women, aged 40 to 55 years.
Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research will follow participants for three years to monitor the development of prostate cancer and determine if the disease is detected earlier than with traditional methods.
Additionally, they will evaluate the effectiveness of the updated saliva test in identifying cancers in this broader demographic.
The Institute of Cancer Research said that recent research has revealed superior accuracy of their saliva test compared to the current standard blood test.
The team has now developed an enhanced version of the test, called PRODICT, which detects over 400 genetic variants associated with cancer, including both common and rare variants.
This advancement will further improve early detection and treatment outcomes for prostate cancer patients, according to ICR.
The Institute of Cancer Research Senior Scientist Zsofia Kote-Jarai said: “We have uncovered hundreds of rare and common genetic variants that are linked to prostate cancer, some of these are linked specifically to aggressive disease, and some are found only in men with African ancestry.”
