Cancer test

Researchers at Durham University have developed a test that uses light energy to measure the level of citrate in fluid samples from the prostate gland.

The technique could provide the basis of a rapid means of detecting prostate cancer in the future.

Almost a quarter of male cancers in the UK are diagnosed as prostate cancer and more than 10,000 men die from the disease each year.

Scientists, led by David Parker from Durham University’s chemistry department, have worked with partners from the University of Maryland in the US to develop the technique, which measures the wavelength of light as it is shone through diluted samples of body fluids.

The research team, funded by the North East Proof of Concept Fund and the EPSRC, believes that the technique can measure, with speed and accuracy, how citrate levels fall in the prostate gland as cancer develops.