Blood test can accurately predict death from prostate cancer

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found that a blood test given to men who are 60 can tell if they will die from prostate cancer up to 25 years in advance.

It’s the leading cause of death for men behind lung cancer. 1 out of every 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime.

“We know that screening detects many prostate cancers that are not harmful, leading to anxiety and unnecessary treatment. It is our ability to determine the risk of the really aggressive cancers that makes this approach of such great potential value,” Sloan-Kettering’s researcher Andrew Vickers said in a statement.

After studying blood samples from a thousand men born in 1921 — part of the Malmo Preventive Project in early 1980s— scientists found that the men who had high levels of PSA were the ones who were likely to die from prostate cancer. Indeed, the majority of the men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer had the top 25 percent PSA levels. And those who had PSA levels below 1 ng / ml, basically had no chance of dying from prostate cancer.

The researchers found that half the men fell into this low level PSA range. Distinquishing which cancers are more aggressive could help researchers treat individual cases accordingly.

However, there’s evidence that PSA tests don’t reduce deaths — and perhaps we should starting screening later at age 60 instead of 40.

According to WebMD:

“When we do routine mass screening for prostate cancer there are winners and losers,” Andriole said to WebMD. “Some men clearly benefit from early detection and early treatment. But other men are losers. They are diagnosed with a cancer, undergo unnecessary treatment and have side effects, and they go through all pain and anxiety associated with having cancer.”

In other news, researchers found that biomarkers can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease long before it manifests. And as I mentioned this week, biomarkers associated with cancer were found in swimmers who soaked themselves in chlorine-drenched pools.

Better Blood Tests Can Confirm Heart Attacks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new generation of blood tests can quickly and reliably show if a person is having a heart attack, very soon after the severe chest pains start. Currently, tests are not sufficiently definitive.

The newer, sensitive tests give a much better way to tell who needs help fast. Each year, 15 million people in Europe and the United States go to emergency rooms (A&E) with symptoms of a heart attack, but most are suffering from other complaints.

Those who are truly having a heart attack need to have blocked arteries cleared or opened quickly, to limit the damage to the heart muscle, caused by the lack of blood flow.

Currently Doctors have two main ways of diagnosing a heart attack. 1) They can use an electrocardiogram, or ECG, to measure the electrical activity of the heartbeat for abnormalities. Unfortunately, that test is not always conclusive and relies on the calibration of the instrument and the expertise of the operator.

2) Doctors can also use blood tests to detect elevated levels of a heart muscle protein known as troponin, this is a sign of heart muscle injury. The problem with the old troponin test is its lack of sensitivity. It takes longer to detect increased troponin levels and by that time, heart damage may have already occurred.

Greater Accuracy

In extensive test cases, the accuracy of the newer tests was 94 to 96% accurate, compared with 85 to 90% for the older tests.

Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Allan Jaffe advocates using the newer tests. Several doctors said the new tests do not cost more than the older versions they are replacing, and are usually covered by insurance.

"You diagnose heart attacks faster and more accurately. You detect more people who are acctually having heart attacks and you can give them the priority they need," said Jaffe, who is independant of the studies and has no role in them.

He does agree that further studies are needed to determine if earlier detection of heart injury results in more lives being saved, but this is certainly a big step forward.