A team of scientists with Professor David Parker at Durham University in UK, with scientists from the University of Maryland in US, are developing a test for prostate cancer that uses the prostate fluid taken under local anaesthesia from the patient and takes 3 minutes for detection by measuring the levels of citrate and lactate as biomarkers of the disease. This research has been published recently in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry.
Professor Parker states that Citrate and lactate are "anions" " or negatively charged molecules formed during cell metabolism and whose levels keep varying with the growth of the cancer, as citrate level in prostate fluid goes down with the progression of the cancer. They are considered to be important markers of the disease as they have the affinity to combine with various luminescent europium complexes thereby forming a luminescent endproduct. The calibration curves indicate that the intensity of glow varies with the quantum of the anion present in the testing fluid, which is the core basis of the test being developed.
Authenticity of the new tests was tested by comparing the results with current Enzymatic tests, considered to be more reliable, which measures citrate and lactate levels. Similar results were obtained in a much shorter time indicating that it is a faster alternative with accurate results.
Prasanna de Silva, chair of organic chemistry at Queen's University Belfast, UK, states that the new test is "A convenient and quick method which provides early warning of prostate cancer which will bring relief to many men."
"Ultimately this could form the basis of a simple screening procedure that could be carried out in local surgeries up and down the country," Parker said.
The test is currently being tested for commerical use.
The researchers still have to prove the reliability of the test over a large number of samples .
Moreover, John Neate, chief executive of the Prostate Cancer Charity in UK stated that the procedure is an invasive one which requires insertion of the needle to get the testing sample and gives a preliminary diagnoses which is to be confirmed with another invasive procedure, biopsy to see the stage of the cancer before deciding the line of treatment.
"The researchers hope to able to refine the test by using samples of seminal fluid which may be easier to obtain. If this was the case, it would be easier to see how this test could take a useful place in clinical practice," said Neate.
This test is a faster and a more reliable alternative to the PSA blood test done for testing prostate cancer which takes 2 weeks .