Prostate cancer hope for at-home spit tests

A NEW at-home prostate cancer test may be better than current methods used to find the disease, a study has suggested.

- BY ELLA PICKOVER

It analyses genetic variants in a man's DNA and could diagnose up to 12,350 people earlier, saving lives and the NHS around £500million a year.

The spit test appears to perform better than the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test when it comes to finding aggressive tumours.

It also reduced the number of false positive results, which could stop men having unnecessary treatment.

Professor Ros Eeles of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust which carried out the study said: "With this test, it could be possible to turn the tide on prostate cancer.