A simple urine test detects prostate cancer early.

Prostate cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage with a simple urine sample. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and a comprehensive analysis of genetic activity in tumors, new biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy have been identified.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common causes of death in men worldwide. One of the main obstacles to diagnosis is the lack of accurate biomarkers capable of identifying the presence of an early-stage tumor.

A team from the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Imperial College London (UK), and Xiyuan Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing (China) has identified new, precise biomarkers. The results are presented in the journal Cancer Research .

By analyzing the mRNA activity of all human genes in thousands of individual prostate tumor cells, and knowing the location and degree of cancer in each cell, the researchers were able to build digital models of prostate cancer.

The models were analyzed using AI to identify proteins that could be used as biomarkers. These biomarkers were then analyzed in the blood, prostate tissue, and urine of nearly 2,000 patients.

Researchers have identified a set of biomarkers in urine that can accurately indicate the presence and severity of prostate cancer. According to their calculations, they outperform PSA, the current blood biomarker in clinical use.

"Urine biomarker measurement offers many advantages," explains lead researcher Mikael Benson . "It's noninvasive and painless, and can potentially be performed at home. The sample can then be analyzed using routine methods in clinical laboratories."

Large-scale clinical trials are being planned for the next phase of the research. One of these is being discussed with Professor Rakesh Heer of Imperial College London, co-author of the study and director of TRANSFORM, the UK's national prostate cancer study, which offers a platform to streamline the analysis of promising biomarkers.

"New biomarkers that are more accurate than PSA may lead to earlier diagnosis and a better prognosis for men with prostate cancer," says Benson. "They may also reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies in healthy men."