Why We Funded It:
We know from work we have carried out with men affected by
prostate cancer that their greatest priority for research is to
find a better way to distinguish between aggressive and
non-aggressive prostate cancer. This will allow better-informed
decisions around treatment, and prevent men undergoing harsh
treatment for a cancer that may never have been life-threatening.
This project is a step towards addressing how we might be able to
distinguish the difference between these cancer types.
Scientific Title: A new approach to evaluating
prostate cancer diagnostic markers in men with a raised PSA
undergoing template mapping biopsy.
Research project summary:
This study is aimed at providing better markers to test for
prostate cancer and to distinguish between aggressive and so-called
'indolent' forms of prostate cancer, also referred to as 'tigers'
and pussycats'. The research team plan to collect blood and urine
samples from 714 men who are due to have a prostate biopsy. Unlike
all previous studies, these men will then have an extremely
thorough biopsy, known as a template mapping biopsy. This type of
biopsy allows us to accurately assess the presence or absence of
prostate cancer, its size and grade. The next step is to test
several highly promising blood and urine markers to see whether
they accurately predict the presence or absence of significant
prostate cancer. There is an urgent need for better markers of
significant prostate cancer that could be used to tell us who
should or should not have a biopsy. The team believe that it is
vital to test such markers in men who have a template mapping
biopsy. This is something that has never been done before.
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