Researchers have developed a new urine-based test called MyProstateScore 2.0 (MPS2) that can accurately distinguish between aggressive prostate cancers requiring treatment and slow-growing cancers that may not need immediate intervention. This breakthrough could help patients avoid unnecessary biopsies and their associated risks.
The Need for Noninvasive Prostate Cancer Screening
Prostate cancer screening typically involves a blood test to measure prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Elevated PSA levels can lead to additional tests, including biopsies, which can be painful and may cause side effects like fever and urinary tract infections. However, many biopsies identify slow-growing prostate cancers that would benefit from close monitoring rather than immediate treatment.
Researchers have been searching for noninvasive ways to distinguish between aggressive prostate cancers and slow-growing cancers to avoid unnecessary biopsies. The original MyProstateScore (MPS) test, developed by Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan and his team at the University of Michigan, enables early detection of prostate cancer but does not differentiate between low-grade and more serious cancers.
MyProstateScore 2.0: A Breakthrough in Prostate Cancer Screening
In their latest study, a team led by Chinnaiyan and Dr. Jeffrey Tosoian of Vanderbilt University identified a set of 18 genes, including a reference gene, that best predicted the presence of high-grade prostate cancers. The new test, dubbed MyProstateScore 2.0 (MPS2), was validated in a group of 743 men with elevated PSA levels.
Validation analysis showed that MPS2 could rule out the presence of high-grade cancer with 97% accuracy. Compared to other biomarker tests, including the original MPS test, MPS2 demonstrated superior ability to identify high-grade cancers. The researchers estimated that MPS2 could help patients avoid up to 51% of unnecessary biopsies.
“In nearly 800 patients with an elevated PSA level, the new test was capable of ruling out the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer with remarkable accuracy,” Tosoian says. “This allows patients to avoid more burdensome and invasive tests, like MRI and prostate biopsy, with great confidence that we are not missing something.”
The development of MPS2 represents a significant advancement in prostate cancer screening, offering a noninvasive and accurate method to identify high-risk cancers while reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies and their associated risks.
