Friday 15 / November / 2024
Muscat: A chemical pathologist in the Ministry of Health (MoH) has succeeded in validating a new marker which helps in early prostate cancer diagnosis.
Dr. Safana Salim Al Saidi, a chemical pathologist worked along with her team from the MoH, the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and the Research Council (TRC), under the supervision of Dr. Waad Allah Mula, Professor at the Royal Hospital for Clinical Biochemistry.
This new prostate specific marker is called -2 pro PSA.
The study included around 200 patients from the Urology Department of two teaching hospitals in Muscat.
Unlike the conventional one, the new marker is more specific in diagnosing a prostate cancer at its early stage.
By introducing this new test, the patient can be diagnosed early and proper management can start at a very early stage of the cancer.
In addition, it would help limit unnecessary prostate biopsies if the new test does not suggest prostate cancer.
Thus, the waiting list for the prostate biopsy procedure will be shortened to include only patients who really need it, based on the results of the new marker.
It should be noted that the Royal College of Pathologist has approved this new promising finding. It will be announced at the Biomarkers Congress 2017, to be held in Osaka, Japan from August 7-9 this year. Dr. Safana has received an invitation to participate with a working paper on the new study’s results.
