Scientists believe that a “breakthrough” test that uses dried blood samples could detect prostate cancer in 15 minutes or less.

Researchers at Aston University have developed a new method that analyses crystal-like structures in dehydrated blood.

Professor Igor Meglinski, from the university’s Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, said the non-invasive technique can detect prostate cancer before symptoms appear with up to 90% accuracy.

He said: “This breakthrough opens new avenues for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, representing a substantial leap forward in personalised medicine and oncology.”

How is prostate cancer detected at the moment?

No national screening programme for prostate cancer currently exists and the standard blood test, which measures levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is not accurate enough.

Rectal exams and tissue biopsies are often needed to diagnose the disease and can be uncomfortable and invasive.

How was the discovery made?

The study where the team analysed 108 dry blood smear samples from healthy volunteers as well as those who had prostate cancer is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Examinations of the protein structures in the blood samples were carried out by the researchers using a technique known as new polarisation-based image reconstruction.

They focused on how proteins change their 3D shape and join together during early stages of the disease, conducting a detailed layer-by-layer analysis of dry blood smears.

This step is crucial for identifying significant differences between healthy and cancerous samples, the researchers said.

Prof Meglinski said the entire process, including drying time, takes up to 15 minutes.

He said the findings had a 90% accuracy rate of early prostate cancer diagnosis (much higher than existing screening methods) and it holds “immense potential for revolutionising cancer diagnosis”.

Prof Meglinski added: “Prostate cancer accounts for nearly 10% of cancer deaths in men and is one of the leading causes of death in older men.

“However, the life expectancy of 90% of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer at stage 1 or 2 is 15 years or more.

“By enabling earlier and more accurate detection, our blood test has the potential to significantly improve outcomes and survival rates for many patients.”

The technique is less traumatic and risky for patients as it relies on blood samples instead of more invasive biopsies, Prof Meglinski said.

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However, he added that the results are preliminary so larger clinical trials are needed to confirm the technique’s potential.

Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, who was not involved in the study, said: “Over 10,000 men each year are diagnosed when their cancer has already spread and become incurable, which is why it’s so important that we find new and better tests for prostate cancer.

“The big issue is proving that these tests are better than what we have already.

“So far, this has been tested on a relatively small number of samples, so we’ll need to see more research before we can know how effective it will be.”