A simple blood test could cut a man's risk of dying from prostate cancer. In a major breakthrough, scientists have shown that men with high levels of calcium in their blood are almost three times as likely to be killed by the disease.

With calcium tests easy to carry out and calcium-lowering drugs already on the market, it means doctors might be able to save some of the 10,000 lives lost to the cancer each year in the UK alone.

Researcher Gary Schwartz said: 'If blood calcium really does increase your risk for fatal prostate cancer, that's wonderfully exciting, because blood calcium levels can be changed.'

High calcium levels in the blood increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, a study has found

Dr Schwartz and colleagues at Wake Forest University in North Carolina in the U.S. made the link after tracking the health of almost 3,000 men.

At the start of the study, the men, who were all free of prostate cancer, gave blood samples which were tested for calcium.

Ten years later, 85 had developed the cancer and 25 had died from it, the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reports.

Analysis showed that although calcium levels did not affect the odds of a man developing the disease, they were linked to the chances of it killing him.

Men whose calcium levels ranked in the top third were 2.7 times more likely to have died of prostate cancer than those with the lowest amounts. The increased risk is comparable to having a close relative with the disease.

But Dr Schwartz said: 'You can't change who your dad or brother is but you can change your calcium. Think of the tremendous advances in the control of cardiovascular disease that occurred from understanding that things like blood cholesterol predict heart attack.'

Confirmation of the findings could lead to men with high calcium being prescribed calcium lowering drugs, several of which are already used to treat kidney problems.

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Prostate cancer develops in the prostate, which is a gland in the male reproductive system

Dr Schwartz said it was unclear whether it was calcium or parathyroid hormone, which is supposed to keep calcium levels under control, that is doing the damage.

Both are known to fuel the growth of prostate tumours.

Fellow researcher Halcyon Skinner, of the University of Wisconsin, stressed that there is little relationship between calcium in the diet and blood calcium levels, so men would not benefit from avoiding calcium-rich foods.

Prostate is the most common cancer in British men, with nearly 35,000 new cases each year.

John Neate, chief executive of the Prostate Cancer Charity, said: 'Prostate cancer is a complex disease. It can be fatal for some men but others live with a low-grade cancer with minimal or no impact on their longevity.

'While the results from this study are important in helping to shape our understanding of which factors can affect a man's risk of aggressive prostate cancer, more research is needed before we can reach any firm conclusions about the case for modifying blood calcium levels.'

'As the researchers point out, there is little relationship between calcium in the diet and blood calcium levels. For this reason, we would not advocate that men make changes to their diet based on this research.'