Thousands of men try new home test kits for prostate cancer

April 30, 2021

Thousands of men around the world are expected to receive home-use test kits for prostate cancer, thanks to pioneering research at the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).

Image Credit: University of East Anglia

The research team is experimenting with a new home test, the Prostate Screening Box, to collect male urine samples at home. Urine samples are used to analyze the prostate health of 2,000 men in the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada.

This simple urine test is aimed at diagnosing advanced prostate cancer, and a pilot study predicted patients in need of treatment up to five years earlier than standard clinical methods.

The Prostate Screening Box was developed in collaboration with REAL Digital International Limited to create a kit that fits standard letterboxing.

This means that men can comfortably provide urine samples at home instead of going to the clinic or undergoing an unpleasant rectal exam. The research team hopes it can revolutionize the diagnosis of illness.

Dr. Jeremy Clark, a senior researcher at the University of East Anglia at Norwich Medical School, said: However, it usually progresses slowly and most cancers do not require treatment during a man’s life. Predicting which tumors will be invasive is not easy and it is difficult to determine treatment for many men. “

“The most commonly used tests for prostate cancer include blood tests, physical tests known as rectal finger examination (DRE), MRI scans or biopsies.”

“We have developed a PUR (prostate urine risk) test that examines gene expression in urine samples and provides important information about whether the cancer is aggressive or” low risk “.

“The part of the prostate screening box sounds like a very small innovation, but in the future, cancer monitoring in men can significantly reduce stress in men and reduce the number of expensive business trips to hospitals. It means you can.

“The prostate gland is just below the bladder. It constantly produces secretions that flow naturally into the urethra-the tubes through which urine passes from the bladder. Prostate secretions carry cells and molecules from the entire prostate and when urinating. It is excreted outside the body. Collect and investigate these. This is a method of sampling the entire prostate at once.

“Because the prostate is constantly secreting, levels of urethral biomarkers accumulate over time. Collecting from the first week of the day means that overnight secretions can be collected, making the analysis more sensitive. I will make it expensive. “

The team previously tried the kit with a small group of participants, but in the next phase of the research study, it has expanded to thousands.

Men participating in the study will be asked to receive a home urine sampling kit and provide two urine samples. One is collected first in the morning and the second is collected one hour later. The sample is then sent back to the lab for analysis.

Dr. Clark said: “Feedback from early participants showed that home collection was much preferred over hospital sample collection.

“Our prostate screening box will revolutionize the way we monitor the disease progression of people who are’actively monitoring’in the future, and men will have a positive urine result. I hope you only have to go to the clinic.

“This is in contrast to the current situation where men are recalled to the clinic every 6-12 months for various tests such as DRE, PSA tests, painful and expensive biopsies, and MRI. We are working on developing a test to help the patient three years later.

“With a negative test, men can only be retested every few years, reducing stress on the patient and reducing the burden on the hospital,” he added.

This simple non-invasive urinalysis can significantly change the way early prostate cancer is diagnosed and managed for the benefit of the patient and healthcare system. Not only does this avoid unnecessary diagnosis of low-risk disease, but it also has the potential to better manage patients with surveillance for patients at low risk of progression and early curative treatment for patients at high risk of progression. there is. “

Robert Mills, Urology Consultant Clinical Director, NNUH

Paul Villanti, Executive Director of Movember’s program, said: Not only can you accurately predict when a man’s illness will progress and need treatment, but it also has the added benefit of allowing the man to complete the illness at home.

“We are proud to have helped develop the PUR test as part of our global action plan on biomarkers, from the early stages of the PUR test to this test involving thousands of men around the world. I will.

“Through our global action plan on active surveillance, we were able to identify hundreds of men from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Canada who were eligible to participate in this study.

“We hope this will accelerate the progress of the trial and include it as soon as possible as part of clinical care for men.”

This study is funded by the Movember and Prostate Cancer UK Innovation Award, Masonic Charitable Foundation, Bob Champion Cancer Trust, King family, Andy Ripley Memorial Fund, Hargrave Foundation, Norfolk Freemasons, and Tesco Centenary Grant.