SCREENING men with a high genetic risk of prostate cancer will prevent up to one in six deaths, researchers claim.
The process would involve a one-off DNA test used to estimate the chances of contracting the disease at different ages, they say.
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Men at a certain level of risk would have a blood test every four years to detect signs of cancer.
It would be the most efficient way of catching patients early, with the fewest false diagnoses, say University College London researchers.
Their analysis shows it would prevent 1,800 deaths — about 15 per cent of the total — a year.
The researchers say a national screening programme like those for breast and cervical cancer would be too expensive and may result in unnecessary treatment.
They suggest screening men whose risk of prostate cancer within the next decade is above four per cent.
It is likely to capture up half of men aged 55 to 69.
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Professor Nora Pashayan says: “Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death from cancer in men in the UK, but screening is not performed because the harm of over-diagnosis is thought to outweigh the benefits.”
“Our study shows that targeted screening can reduce unnecessary diagnoses while helping to prevent people dying from the disease by enabling earlier detection.”
But Dr David Montgomery, of Prostate Cancer UK, said genetic blood testing was still not reliable enough.
