A new home urine test for prostate cancer could make diagnosing the disease faster, easier, less embarrassing and more accurate than a digital rectal exam, biopsy or in-office urine samples.
A simple urine test
A team of researchers from the University of East Anglia wanted to create an at-home prostate cancer test that would allow men to simply mail a urine sample to a lab for analysis. They knew that as fluid moves from the prostate through the urethra, it carries both RNA and cancer cells with it, making urine ideal for detecting prostate cancer.
“Because the prostate is constantly secreting, the collection of urine from men’s first urination of the day means that the biomarker levels from the prostate are much higher and more consistent,” explains lead researcher Dr. Jeremy Clark. “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.”
More research needs to be done but the results of this study were promising.
Eventually, the scientists hope to create similar screening test for urinary cancers, such as kidney and bladder. It probably won’t be difficult to recruit participants for future studies, because the process is simple and painless.
Prostate cancer in the United States
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men (after skin cancer), with 174,650 new cases reported each year. Approximately 1 in 9 American men will be diagnosed in his lifetime.
Your risk is higher if you’re African American or at least 65. Prostate cancer is rare in men under 40 and the average age at diagnosis is 66.
The good news is, most men don’t die of prostate cancer because it has a relatively good survival rate if it’s caught early.
