SCIENTISTS at the University of York have found a way of distinguishing fatal prostate cancer from "manageable" cancer.
The breakthrough could reduce the need for unnecessary surgeries and radiotherapy.
The team analysed more than 500 tissue samples and found that more than 25 men were being unnecessarily treated for every life saved.
In conjunction with the University of British Columbia, the team has designed a test to pick out life-threatening prostate cancers, with up to 92 per cent accuracy.
Professor Norman Maitland said: "Unnecessary prostate treatment has physical consequences for patients and their families, but is also a substantial financial burden on the NHS. Cancers that are contained in the prostate have the potential to be 'actively monitored', which is not only cheaper, but has far fewer negative side-effects."
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