At-home saliva test improves prostate cancer diagnosis accuracy

A new at-home spit test could help detect prostate cancer more accurately than traditional blood tests. This test might lead to earlier diagnoses and better treatment outcomes for men at high risk. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, following skin cancer, but there is currently no standard screening test. Currently, doctors often use blood tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or perform rectal exams. However, these methods can require follow-up tests for a proper diagnosis. Elevated PSA levels can indicate prostate issues but do not necessarily mean cancer is present. In contrast, the new saliva test looks at DNA for small genetic changes that suggest the presence of prostate cancer. Clinical trials have shown that this spit test is more effective than the PSA method. Men identified as high-risk by the saliva test were more likely to have prostate cancer than those with elevated PSA levels. This test also identified aggressive cancers more effectively and made fewer false identifications compared to PSA tests. Experts believe this new saliva test could improve early detection of prostate cancer. Naser Turabi from Cancer Research UK mentioned that this research brings us closer to finding aggressive cancer types earlier. He emphasized that more studies are needed before the test can be widely used. When caught early, localized prostate cancer is often curable, with a five-year survival rate exceeding 99%. However, if the cancer spreads, it can become life-threatening. The saliva test studied over 6,000 European men, revealing that many who tested high-risk were later diagnosed with cancer, even when PSA levels were normal. Researchers found that a significant portion of cancers detected through the saliva test were aggressive. This could allow doctors to focus on those who need treatment, reducing unnecessary tests and procedures for lower-risk patients. Overall, the study suggests that a simple saliva test could transform the approach to prostate cancer screening, focusing on genetic risks to target high-risk men effectively.