New prostate cancer test means some men could avoid unnecessary treatment

OncoAssure co-founder Des O’Leary: 'By accurately identifying patients at higher risk of aggressive disease, our test equips clinicians to tailor treatment plans that can improve patient outcomes.' Picture: Vincent Hoban, UCD

A new test for prostate cancer developed by Irish and Swedish researchers better predicts the risks of the aggressive disease and means some men could avoid unnecessary treatment.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men and the second leading cause of male cancer death worldwide.

However, while 30% of patients have an aggressive type of this cancer needing urgent treatment, about 70% have slow-growing cancer and can be monitored without immediate treatment.

This new test was developed out of concerns over-treatment was becoming an issue for men with this type of cancer who may not need treatment. 

Researchers at OncoAssure, University College Dublin, and Lund University, Sweden, worked on the test together.

Professor William Gallagher, co-founder of OncoAssure, highlighted the benefits for patients.

“Our findings show that the OncoAssure prostate test is a powerful tool that adds significant value to traditional clinical and pathological risk stratifiers," he said.

“This enables better-informed decisions for prostate cancer treatment, potentially reducing overtreatment and optimising outcomes."

The test improves doctors’ ability to estimate the likelihood of aggressive cancer compared to using standard clinical and pathological information. 

They can then better estimate a patient’s risk of prostate cancer coming back again. 

This would allow doctors select the best treatment.

Treatment can lead to complications, including infection, incontinence, erectile dysfunction and depression, a spokesman for UCD Research and Innovation added.

Men with higher risk scores on this test — OncoAssure Prostate  — were more likely to have their cancer reoccur. Men with lower risk scores were identified as suitable for active surveillance instead.

OncoAssure co-founder Des O’Leary said: “By accurately identifying patients at higher risk of aggressive disease, our test equips clinicians to tailor treatment plans that can improve patient outcomes.” 

The test is being launched in America this year, he added.

The study 'Clinical validation of a biopsy-based six-gene signature prognostic for aggressive prostate cancer' can be read in the British Journal of Urology International Compass.