Prostate Urine Risk Tests
As fluid moves from the prostate through the urethra, it carries cancer cells and RNA with it. Once the body has passed this genetic and cellular information out in the urine, scientists can use it to detect clues about the presence of prostate cancer.
These tests are called prostate urine risk tests, and predict whether or not prostate cancer will become aggressive.
In earlier studies of PUR tests, before researchers collected a urine sample, they conducted a digital rectal exam. As the authors of the new study explain, during the exam, a doctor will firmly stroke one side of the prostate. This encourages cellular and genetic material to move from the prostate to the urine sample.
Digital rectal exams are unpopular and require a trip to the doctors office. Researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom wanted to determine whether or not it would be possible to skip this procedure while still yielding accurate PUR results.
Their recent study investigated an at-home version of the PUR test. At-home testing allows participants to take a urine sample at home and mail it to the laboratory. This is ideal, because it means that the person can capture the first urination of the day.
As lead researcher Dr. Jeremy Clark explains, Because the prostate is constantly secreting, the collection of urine from mens first urination of the day means that the biomarker levels from the prostate are much higher and more consistent.
Positron Emission Tomography Scan
A PET scan is similar to a bone scan, in that a slightly radioactive substance is injected into the blood, which can then be detected with a special camera. But PET scans use different tracers that collect mainly in cancer cells. The most common tracer for standard PET scans is FDG, which is a type of sugar. Unfortunately, this type of PET scan isnt very useful in finding prostate cancer cells in the body.
However, newer tracers, such as fluciclovine F18, sodium fluoride F18, and choline C11, have been found to be better at detecting prostate cancer cells.
Other newer tracers, such as Ga 68 PSMA-11, 18F-DCFPyl , and Ga 68 gozetotide , attach to prostate-specific membrane antigen , a protein that is often found in large amounts on prostate cancer cells. Tests using these types of tracers are sometimes referred to as PSMA PET scans.
These newer types of PET scans are most often used if its not clear if prostate cancer has spread. For example, one of these tests might be done if the results of a bone scan arent clear, or if a man has a rising PSA level after initial treatment but its not clear where the cancer is in the body. PSMA PET scans can also be used to help determine if the cancer can be treated with a radiopharmaceutical that targets PSMA.
Doctors are still learning about the best ways to use these newer types of PET scans, and some of them might not be available yet in all imaging centers.
How Is A Digital Rectal Exam Performed
A DRE is a physical exam of the prostate. The health care provider will ask the patient to bend over a table or lie on his side while holding his knees close to his chest. The health care provider slides a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum and feels the part of the prostate that lies next to it. The DRE may be slightly uncomfortable, but it is brief. This exam reveals whether the prostate has any abnormalities that require more testing. If an infection is suspected, the health care provider might massage the prostate during the DRE to obtain fluid to examine with a microscope. This exam is usually done first. Many health care providers perform a DRE as part of a routine physical exam for men age 50 or older, some even at age 40, whether or not the man has urinary problems.
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Why Is A Prostate
A PSA blood test is performed to detect or rule out prostate cancer. The amount of PSA in the blood is often higher in men who have prostate cancer. However, an elevated PSA level does not necessarily indicate prostate cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the PSA blood test for use in conjunction with a DRE to help detect prostate cancer in men age 50 or older and for monitoring men with prostate cancer after treatment. However, much remains unknown about how to interpret a PSA blood test, its ability to discriminate between cancer and problems such as BPH and prostatitis, and the best course of action if the PSA level is high.
When done in addition to a DRE, a PSA blood test enhances detection of prostate cancer. However, the test is known to have relatively high false-positive rates. A PSA blood test also may identify a greater number of medically insignificant lumps or growths, called tumors, in the prostate. Health care providers and patients should weigh the benefits of PSA blood testing against the risks of follow-up diagnostic tests. The procedures used to diagnose prostate cancer may cause significant side effects, including bleeding and infection.
Lymph Node Biopsy As A Separate Procedure
A lymph node biopsy is rarely done as a separate procedure. Its sometimes used when a radical prostatectomy isnt planned , but when its still important to know if the lymph nodes contain cancer.
Most often, this is done as a needle biopsy. To do this, the doctor uses an image to guide a long, hollow needle through the skin in the lower abdomen and into an enlarged node. The skin is numbed with local anesthesia before the needle is inserted to take a small tissue sample. The sample is then sent to the lab and looked at for cancer cells.
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Urine Test Accurately Flags Prostate Cancer
“Our ultimate goal was to determine whether the MyProstateScore test could be a practical, reliable test that could rule out the need for more costly or invasive testing in men referred for a prostate biopsy,” says Jeffrey Tosoian.
You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.
Researchers have found that a new urine test is extremely accurate at detecting aggressive prostate cancer with few false negatives.
The test could have possibly avoided one third of unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies while failing to detect only a small number of cancers, according to a validation study of more than 1,500 patients.
The MyProstateScore test measures levels of cancer-specific genes in a patients urine. Its based on previous research that discovered half of all prostate tumors harbor a certain genetic anomaly in which the genes TMPRSS2 and ERG relocate on a chromosome and fuse togethercreating an on-switch for prostate cancer development.
One of the best current methods for detecting prostate cancer is a blood test for prostate-specific antigen, commonly known as the PSA test. Elevated PSA levels may indicate cancer, but the majority of men with an elevated PSA dont actually have prostate cancer.
The data show that this straightforward, secondary testing approach could reduce the use of more costly and invasive procedures following a PSA test, Tosoian says.
Urine Test Can Help Diagnose Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Recent research has revealed that a new urine test can detect aggressive prostate cancer cases that need treatment up to 5 years sooner than other diagnostic methods.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital carried out the study.
They revealed that an experimental urine test, called Prostate Urine Risk , can distinguish who will and who will not require treatment within the first 5 years of diagnosis.
The findings now appear in the journal BJU International.
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Prostate Cancer: Advancements In Screenings
You may know thatprostate canceris one of the most common cancer types in men. The good news is that thereare many treatment and management options, even if the cancer is caught ata later stage.
What you may not know: There are several options when it comes toprostate cancer screening. After considering multiple factors, your doctor may recommend theprostate-specific antigen test, and/or one of the newer screeningtests that are now available.
Johns Hopkins urologistChristian Pavlovich, M.D., explains what you should know.
Prostate Cancer Urine Test Identifies Good Prognosis Patients
- Date:
- University of East Anglia
- Summary:
- Researchers have shown that a prostate cancer urine test can identify men at ‘intermediate risk’ who can safely avoid immediate treatment and benefit from ‘active surveillance’ instead. Previously, the team’s Prostate Urine Risk test could identify men with high and low risk cancers. But thanks to some fine-tuning, it can now help men with intermediate-risk disease – for whom treatment options had been less clear.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia have shown that a prostate cancer urine test can identify men at ‘intermediate risk’ who can safely avoid immediate treatment and benefit from ‘active surveillance’ instead.
A new pilot study published today reveals how urine biomarkers can show the amount of significant cancer in a prostate, highlighting with more certainty which men need treatment.
Previously, the team’s Prostate Urine Risk test could identify men with high and low risk cancers.
But thanks to some fine-tuning, it can now help men with intermediate-risk disease — for whom treatment options had been less clear.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. It usually develops slowly and the majority of cancers will not require treatment in a man’s lifetime.
The most commonly-used tests for prostate cancer include blood tests, a physical examination known as a digital rectal examination , an MRI scan and an invasive biopsy.
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Transrectal Ultrasound With Prostate Biopsy
Transrectal ultrasound is most often used to examine the prostate. In a transrectal ultrasound, the health care provider inserts a transducer slightly larger than a pen into the mans rectum next to the prostate. The ultrasound image shows the size of the prostate and any abnormal-looking areas, such as tumors. Transrectal ultrasound cannot definitively identify prostate cancer.
To determine whether a tumor is cancerous, the health care provider uses the transducer and ultrasound images to guide a needle to the tumor. The needle is then used to remove a few pieces of prostate tissue for examination with a microscope. This process, called biopsy, can reveal whether prostate cancer is present. A transrectal ultrasound with prostate biopsy is usually performed by a doctor in a health care providers office, outpatient center, or hospital with light sedation and local anesthesia. The biopsied prostate tissue is examined in a laboratory by a pathologista doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases.
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Urine Test Could Help Prevent Cervical Cancer: Study
Prostate cancer usually develops slowly and the majority of cancers will not require treatment in a mans lifetime. However, doctors struggle to predict which tumours will become aggressive, making it hard to decide on treatment for many men, said lead researcher Dr Jeremy Clark from UEAs Norwich Medical School.
The most commonly used tests for prostate cancer include blood tests, a physical examination known as a digital rectal examination , an MRI scan or a biopsy.
We developed the PUR test, which looks at gene expression in urine samples and provides vital information about whether a cancer is aggressive or low risk.
The research team provided 14 participants with an At Home Collection Kit, and instructions.
They then compared the results of their home urine samples, taken first thing in the morning, with samples collected after a digital rectal examination.
We found that the urine samples taken at home showed the biomarkers for prostate cancer much more clearly than after a rectal examination. And feedback from the participants showed that the at home test was preferable, the authors wrote in a paper published in the journal BioTechniques.
Because the prostate is constantly secreting, the collection of urine from mens first urination of the day means that the biomarker levels from the prostate are much higher and more consistent, so this is a great improvement, they added.
New Prostate Cancer Urine Test Shows How Aggressive Disease Is
Test could reduce invasive biopsies
University of East Anglia
New prostate cancer urine test shows how aggressive disease is and could reduce invasive biopsies
Researchers from the University of East Anglia have developed a new urine test for prostate cancer which also shows how aggressive the disease is.
A new study published today shows how an experimental new test called ExoGrail has the potential to revolutionise how patients with suspected prostate cancer are risk-assessed prior to an invasive biopsy.
The research team say their new test could reduce the number of unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies by 35 per cent.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. It usually develops slowly and the majority of cancers will not require treatment in a mans lifetime.
The most commonly used tests for prostate cancer include blood tests, a physical examination known as a digital rectal examination , an MRI scan or an invasive biopsy.
However, doctors struggle to predict which tumours will become aggressive, making it hard to decide on treatment for many men.
Lead researcher Dr Dan Brewer, from UEAs Norwich Medical School, said: While prostate cancer is responsible for a large proportion of all male cancer deaths, it is more commonly a disease men die with rather than from.
Invasive biopsies come at considerable economic, psychological and societal cost to patients and healthcare systems alike.
Journal
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Medical History And Physical Exam
If your doctor suspects you might have prostate cancer, you will be asked about symptoms you are having, such as any urinary or sexual problems, and how long you have had them. You might also be asked about possible risk factors, including your family history.
Your doctor will also examine you. This might include a digital rectal exam , during which the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum to feel for any bumps or hard areas on the prostate that might be cancer. If you do have cancer, the DRE can sometimes help tell if its only on one side of the prostate, if its on both sides, or if its likely to have spread beyond the prostate to nearby tissues. Your doctor may also examine other areas of your body.
After the exam, your doctor might then order some tests.
Can Urine Test Be The New Non
Researchers have recently found that urine tests could be an extremely accurate non-invasive method to detecting aggressive prostate cancer with few false negatives.
The test is a possible way to avoid of unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies that fail to detect a small number of cancers, according to a validation study of about 1,500 patients.
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New Prostate Cancer Tests Why Are They Needed
PSA blood test has been used as a traditional way of diagnosing prostate cancer. PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland. An elevated PSA level may indicate the presence of prostate cancer. But, there are also other factors that can influence the PSA level. Prostate infections, BPH or the use of some medications may result in a high PSA level. The usual follow-up after an elevated PSA level is a needle biopsy. Researchers found that less than half of those biopsies found cancerous cells. Also, many of the cancers found are indolent, not likely to spread or cause life-threatening problems.
In this context, it was considered that, in many cases, men need to go through an unnecessarily painful process of cancer diagnosis. Many of the new tests, including the urine test, aim to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies that more than one million men undergo each year.
One such new test is called the 4Kscore, developed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. This test analyzes four different types of PSA-related proteins in blood samples calculating from 1% t0 100% the likelihood of finding aggressive cancer.
Prostate Health Index, or PHI, from Beckman Coulter, Inc. is another PSA-based test that can calculate if a biopsy will detect prostate cancer but not be able to tell the cancers aggressiveness.
Scientists Develop Home Urine Test Kit That Can Accurately Spot Prostate Cancer Risk
The research team hopes that the introduction of the At-Home Collection Kit could revolutionise diagnosis of the disease.
Scientists have developed a novel urine test kit that can help detect prostate cancer risk at home. The test diagnoses aggressive prostate cancer and predicts whether patients will require treatment up to five years earlier than standard clinical methods.
The PUR test could be performed on samples collected at home, so men dont have to come into the clinic to provide a urine sample or have to undergo an uncomfortable rectal examination, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
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.
The research team hopes 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 mans lifetime. However, doctors struggle to predict which tumours will become aggressive, making it hard to decide on treatment for many men, said lead researcher Dr Jeremy Clark from UEAs Norwich Medical School.
The most commonly used tests for prostate cancer include blood tests, a physical examination known as a digital rectal examination , an MRI scan or a biopsy.
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