Prostate cancer waiting times could be radically cut by an ‘extremely encouraging’ 20 minute test, scientists have revealed.
The new ultrasound test can detect the vast majority of tumours and takes a fraction of the time required for the existing method of lengthy blood tests and MRI scans.
Around 3,400 men in Scotland receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer each year.
But a team at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University said recent testing at the city’s Western General Hospital had promising results.
The new test uses a dye, which contains microbubbles, injected into a vein.
This travels to the prostate where a high resolution ultrasound can pick up how the microbubbles flow. Any cancer in the prostate alters the blood flow.
Early clinical trials show the test can detect 94 per cent of prostate tumours and costs a tenth of MRI scanning.
It also makes more accurate prostate biopsies and targeted therapy to destroy cancer cells possible.
The new ultrasound test can detect the vast majority of tumours and takes a fraction of the time required for the existing method of lengthy blood tests and MRI scans (Stock image)
Prostate cancer imaging developed by university researchers has shown ‘extremely encouraging’ results in its first clinical trials
MRI images (left) and new super-resolution imaging (right)demonstrating a missed tumour
The current means of testing, a blood test called a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is unreliable (Stock image)
The current means of testing, a blood test called a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, is unreliable and means men are sent for expensive MRI scans which can come with long waiting lists.
Dr George Papageorgiou, chief executive of test developers Less Grey Imaging, said the new technique has the potential ‘to reliably detect clinically significant prostate cancer.
He added: ‘Currently, prostate cancer diagnosis varies widely across the country, with many patients being diagnosed too late for curative treatment.
‘By integrating ultrasound more prominently into the diagnostic pathway, we can ensure early diagnosis.
‘Urologists will have an imaging tool that enables accurate diagnoses and quicker decision-making.’
The potential of the technology has led Government group Innovate UK to award the company a £370,000 grant.
Professor Alan McNeill, a consultant urological surgeon at the Western General, and trustee of charity Prostate Scotland, said: ‘This is the most common cancer in men but, if it is caught early while the cancer remains within the prostate, it can be cured in the majority of cases.’
Gary Tait, chairman of Edinburgh & Lothian Prostate Cancer Support Group, said: ‘We fully support the development of this new technology which raises the possibility of enabling more men to be both diagnosed and treated earlier than at present.’
