AI test could help to cut the risk of dying from prostate cancer by half, study suggests
From examining images of tumours it was able to identify patients who could benefit from a 'game-changer' drug by picking out features invisible to the human eye.
Around one in four men with 'high-risk' prostate cancer were found to have a particular biomarker that made them more receptive to the treatment.
Among those with the biomarker, taking the drug abiraterone alongside standard hormone therapy cut the risk of death after five years from 17 per cent to 9 per cent – a reduction of 47 per cent.
Men without the biomarker saw their risk of death drop from 7 per cent to 4 per cent – which is not thought to be statistically or clinically significant.
Abiraterone, which costs just £77 for a month's supply since the patent expired, works by inhibiting the production of testosterone in all tissues throughout the body, including in the tumour.
Researchers say NHS England should now make the drug available to the 2,100 men a year who could benefit, while sparing others a treatment that comes with additional side-effects.
It is approved for use on the NHS in England for patients with advanced prostate cancer that has come back and spread to other parts of the body, but not for the 8,400 men a year with newly diagnosed high-risk prostate cancer that has not spread.
Experts say because fewer men than previously thought will need the drug, NHS England should review the decision not to fund the treatment for those who could benefit earlier.
It has been more widely available to men in Scotland and Wales for two years.
Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), in London, and University College London examined data from more than 1,000 men whose tumours were at high risk of spreading.
The findings, based on a test developed by Artera Inc, will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The Mail has campaigned for years to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in a bid to prevent needless deaths.
Professor Nick James, who co-led the research at the ICR, said: 'I truly hope this new research – showing precisely who needs the drug to live well for longer – will lead to NHS England reviewing their decision to fund abiraterone for high-risk prostate cancer that has not spread.'
An NHS spokesman said: 'Abiraterone continues to be routinely funded by the NHS in England for several forms of advanced prostate cancer in line with clinical guidance, and we are keeping this position under close review.'
Meanwhile, lung cancer patients will be offered a new blood test to speed up access to targeted treatments and avoid unnecessary biopsies.
The 'liquid biopsy' looks for tiny fragments of tumour DNA and detects mutations.
About 15,000 patients a year will benefit, NHS England says.
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