JAMA Oncology: Urine test can help rule out high-grade prostate cancer with almost 100% accuracy, study shows

A urine test can distinguish slow-growing prostate cancer from its aggressive form, a study showed. This information will enable doctors to order fewer unnecessary prostate biopsies, report the authors of an article published in the journal JAMA Oncology.

As the researchers explained, 20 years ago, doctors treated any detected prostate cancer. However, research on this tumor has led to a review of tactics; it is now often recommended to treat only fast-growing prostate cancer. A biopsy, an analysis of prostate tissue, is used in order to determine the shape of the tumor. Collection of biomaterial for this test is associated with discomfort and risk of infection.

The new MPS2 test (myProstatesCore2.0) is based on looking for biomarkers in a man's urine sample. Testing on 800 samples showed the test to be nearly 100% accurate in ruling out aggressive forms of cancer. This means that if a man has a negative result from this test, there is a good chance that he will not have an aggressive cancer.

The study also found that this test would avoid up to 41% of unnecessary biopsies.

The test involves analyzing 18 biomarkers, proteins produced by 18 different genes in prostate cancer cells. To develop it, researchers have analyzed more than 58 thousand genes.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter