Liquid prostate biopsy examines the urine of men suspected of having prostate cancer. A liquid biopsy makes it possible to detect prostate cancer with high probability and, in some patients, to avoid a prostate biopsy. Moreover, it can also predict in which patient the prostate cancer may be aggressive. However, some specialists are skeptical about this study. What is a liquid prostate biopsy? What are the indications for the test?

Liquid Prostate Biopsyis a non-invasive urine test that predicts the probability of finding prostate cancer after a prostate biopsy.

Liquid prostate biopsy is for men with PSA (prostate antigen) levels above normal (>4ng / ml). Increased PSA levels indicate abnormalities within the prostate, incl. for benign prostatic hyperplasia, inflammation, and prostate cancer. Therefore, to be sure, the doctor will refer the patient to a prostate biopsy, which is the standard method of diagnosing prostate cancer and assessing its malignancy.

Additionally, a liquid prostate biopsy can determine the degree of malignancy of the cancer.

However, this procedure is fraught with many complications. With a liquid prostate biopsy, it can be determined in which patients a traditional prostate biopsy is actually necessary, and in which patients this invasive procedure can be avoided. Traditional biopsy will be indicated for patients at high risk of finding prostate cancer. Men at low risk of having this cancer can only undergo routine checkups and screening.

Until now, biopsy has been the standard way to diagnose prostate cancer and assess its malignancy.

Liquid prostate biopsy - what is it?

The first morning urine is taken for the test. The test measures urine levels of two genetic biomarkers - DLX1 mRNA and HOXC6 - strongly associated with prostate cancer.

Liquid Prostate Biopsy - Results

The high level of these biomarkets suggests a high risk of finding prostate cancer after a prostate biopsy. Then the patient and the doctor decide on further diagnosis.

Urine test for prostate cancer -advantages and disadvantages

Testing a urine sample can avoid unnecessary biopsy, both the first and the subsequent (when the first was negative). An additional advantage of the test is that it allows you to predict whether the tumor will be significantly malignant ornot.

Testing a urine sample can save the patient from an unnecessary prostate biopsy or rule out aggressive prostate cancer.

However, some specialists are skeptical about this study, emphasizing that individual liquid biopsy tests, which are becoming more and more, show different sensitivity. Such a test would therefore be more reliable if several different tests could be used. For now, however, it is not possible, if only because their costs are still high.

Worth knowing

Urine test for prostate cancer - where can it be done? What's the price?

In Poland, liquid prostate biopsy has recently been offered in several centers, incl. at the European He alth Center in Otwock and the Hifu Clinic Prostate Cancer Treatment Center in Warsaw. The price of the test is about PLN 1,600. It is not reimbursed by the National He alth Fund.

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Research