NEWS
Saliva test offers improved accuracy for prostate cancer
A simple at-home saliva test may be more accurate at detecting prostate cancer than the current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded research suggests.
This new method could better identify
the future risk of cancer for some men. The BARCODE 1 study calculated the risk of prostate cancer from DNA extracted from saliva, producing a polygenic risk score (PRS).
The study was partly funded by
the NIHR Royal Marsden Biomedical Research Centre. It was supported by NIHR Research Delivery Network and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. For men with the highest risk score, the study found this to be a better tool than the current prostate cancer risk test. The PSA test falsely indicates prostate cancer in men three out of four times and detects cancers which grow so slowly they are unlikely to ever be life threatening. This means that some men may undergo unnecessary MRI scans, invasive biopsies and treatments. Researchers trialled their new DNA saliva test which looks for genetic variants linked to prostate cancer. The study calculated the PRS of 6,142 European men recruited from their GP surgeries, aged between 55 to 69 when the risk of prostate cancer is increased. The score is based on 130 genetic variations in the DNA code that are linked to prostate cancer. Those at risk inherit many of these variants and are most at risk of developing the disease. Men with the highest 10% of risk scores – 468 in total – were invited to further screening. Following an MRI and prostate biopsy, 40% of these men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. This compares with the PSA test, in which 25% will have prostate cancer. The £42 million TRANSFORM trial funded by NIHR and Prostate Cancer UK will directly compare the saliva test to the PSA blood test and MRI scan. Researchers estimate that the spit test could identify up to 12,350 people earlier, saving the NHS around £500 million a year. n McHugh JK, Bancroft EK, Saunders E et al. Assessment of a Polygenic Risk Score in Screening for Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2025 Apr 9; 392 (14): 1406-1417. doi:10.1056/ NEJMoa2407934
EDITOR’S COMMENT The shows must go on
This month we have two major events taking centre stage. First – and already previewed in our last two issues – 15 May will see the 40th holding of the British Society For Microbial Technology’s Annual Microbiology Conference, safely and securely back at its regular venue of the RAF Museum in Hendon, North London. This landmark year will see David Westrip, a Senior Biomedical Scientist with East Kent Microbiology Service, based at William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, assume the Society’s Chair, taking over from Mark Wilks. Many congratulations to all at the BSMT for reaching this milestone event. Within the pages of this issue you’ll find our first preview of the 2025 IBMS Congress, with the Institute’s Vice President Sarah May introducing this year’s new features and setting the stage for 22-25 September, at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC). The Congress programme was launched back at the start of February, with full details – including those of new features – gradually being added. Early bird ticket rates – for both IBMS members and non-members – are available until the end of June. The Congress website at
www.congress.ibms.org/ is the place to find further information and to secure your ticket.
Pathology in Practice will be
represented at both events and I’m looking forward to being at both myself, as well as continuing the close relationship the journal has with both bodies – this year and into the future. Also this issue we bring you the third article in Stephen MacDonald’s latest series on risk management, which looks at laboratory applications for the tools and processes examined last issue, and examining how a risk-based approach can be applied to method validation and verification, and bringing new equipment into service.
Further subjects include a comparison
of CRP, ESR and PV; three commonly used methods to screen for inflammation markers to diagnose and monitor disease. On the topic of antibiotic resistance, we look at the advantages offered by novel molecular diagnostics when dealing with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and how they can offer improvements in antimicrobial stewardship.
Further articles look at therapeutic drug monitoring for inflammatory bowel disease management; the challenges of diagnosing multiple myeloma in its early stages; and how appropriate ecosystem classifications for genomic predictive health can help make AI-assisted healthcare equitable for patients around the globe.
Enjoy the issue!
andymyall@pathologyinpractice.com
Source BioScience acquires CCL
Source BioScience has announced the acquisition of Cambridge Clinical Laboratories (CCL), a leading Cambridge- based provider of clinical, personalised healthcare testing services. The acquisition bolsters Source BioScience’s clinical diagnostics portfolio by leveraging the expertise of the CCL team and new state-of-the-art clinical laboratory facilities at Vision Park in Cambridge (pictured), providing streamlined testing services for both preclinical and clinical research. CCL provides personalised healthcare diagnostic services spanning oncology, virology, men’s health, gastroenterology and fertility, as well as validation studies for clinical research, to both the NHS and private customers worldwide. The acquisition will complement Source BioScience’s established capabilities in genomics and multiomics,
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM MAY 2025
and expand its existing clinical offering, which includes molecular diagnostics, digital pathology and clinical trial support, to provide a complete laboratory service portfolio. By offering comprehensive, end- to-end testing solutions, researchers can confidently progress candidates through R&D, to preclinical and clinical stages with one specialist outsourcing partner - minimising resource requirements and data bias across the entire development process, with the option for additional support in clinical research and diagnostics. All staff and assets from CCL will be
transferred to the new clinical facilities at the existing Source Genomics site at Vision Park. The facilities will provide a significantly larger laboratory footprint, enabling the company to expand the capacity of existing services and explore new capabilities for future projects.
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