Prostate cancer test carried out at home avoids physical check

Telegraph Reporters
The new test said to be more sensitive than current methods and capable of identifying how advanced the disease is - Alamy
The new test said to be more sensitive than current methods and capable of identifying how advanced the disease is - Alamy

A prostate cancer test which can be carried out at home and avoids invasive medical examinations has been developed by university experts.

Medics hope patients can receive an earlier and more accurate diagnosis by providing an urine sample as part of an at-home collection kit.

The test, which has so far been trialled by 14 men, is said to be more sensitive than current methods and capable of identifying how advanced the disease is.

It is used for men suspected of having cancer and can work out which men have aggressive or intermediate levels of the disease, as well as ruling out those who do not have prostate cancer.

As part of a small study, the researchers gave 14 men at-home collection kits and compared the results of their morning-time home urine samples with samples collected after a digital rectal examination.

Researchers said feedback from the men showed they preferred the at-home test.

Experts behind the Prostate Urine Risk (PUR) test, from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, say they have now developed the test further so urine samples can be collected at home.

This means men do not have to go into the clinic to provide a urine sample or to undergo a rectal exam.

Lead researcher Dr Jeremy Clark, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "The PUR test looks at gene expression in urine samples and provides vital information about whether a cancer is aggressive or 'low risk'.

"Being able to simply provide a urine sample at home and post a sample off for analysis could really revolutionise diagnosis.

"It means that men would not have to undergo a digital rectal examination, so it would be much less stressful and should result in a lot more patients being tested."

Around 48,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK, and more than 11,000 die from it.

Simon Grieveson, head of research funding at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "We hope that this research will bring us a step closer to making a more accurate and earlier diagnosis a reality for men with prostate cancer."