Prostate cancer test to save thousands of lives

A NEW test for prostate cancer shown to be more than 90 per cent accurate at detecting the disease could save thousands of lives.

- Lucy Johnstony

The simple blood test, developed by a British biotech company, identifies abnormal immune cells which act as a marker of this cancer. Ministers have been urged to adopt it, as the existing prostate specific antigen blood test is notoriously unreliable.

Three out of four men with a raised PSA level do not have prostate cancer and one in seven men with a normal PSA result do.

Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, 48, who has stage 4 prostate cancer, has been campaigning for more screening of men aged 45, as opposed to the current 50.