One-off prostate cancer test at 60 can save lives

A one-off test for prostate cancer at 60 could save thousands of lives every year, scientists claim.

Researchers found that 60-year-old men with high levels of a protein known as a prostate specific antigen (PSA) in their blood were much more likely to die from prostate cancer by the time they were 85.

The disease is one of the commonest forms of cancer in men. There are around 35,000 new cases in Britain every year and it claims 10,000 lives. The scientists at the University of Florida say that a single test at 60 could identify the men most at risk, who could then have follow-up screenings every year to check for the first signs of the cancer, reported the 'Daily Mail'.

There is currently no prostate cancer screening programme in Britain, unlike that in place for breast cancer in which women aged 50 to 70 are invited for tests every three years.

This is mainly because evidence shows that such tests for prostate cancer are unreliable, and often wrongly diagnose early signs of the disease in perfectly healthy men.

But this latest study, published in the BMJ, shows that a one-off test at 60 could potentially save thousands of lives a year.

Professor Philipp Dahm and colleagues at the University of Florida looked at 1,600 men who provided blood aged 60 in 1981 and who were then followed-up until they reached the age of 85, if they had not died earlier.

They found that 90 per cent of prostate cancer deaths occurred in those who had very high levels of PSA at the age of 60.

In addition, they found that those with large amounts of PSA in their blood were also likely to develop a form of prostate cancer which later spreads to other organs of the body  - and is usually terminal.

"In contrast, our findings suggest that 60 year old men with low concentrations can be reassured that even if they do harbour cancer, it is unlikely to become apparent during their lifetime and even less likely to be life-threatening. Such men could be exempted from further screening, which should instead focus on men with higher concentrations."

He said that the test also predicted whether the disease was likely to spread to other organs, a process known as metastasis.
 

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