Novel diagnostic biomarkers for prostate cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in American men, and a more aggressive form of the disease is particularly prevalent among African Americans. The therapeutic success rate for prostate cancer can be tremendously improved if the disease is diagnosed early. Thus, a successful therapy for this disease depends heavily on the clinical indicators (biomarkers) for early detection of the presence and progression of the disease, as well as the prediction after the clinical intervention. However, the current clinical biomarkers for prostate cancer are not ideal as there remains a lack of reliable biomarkers that can specifically distinguish between those patients who should be treated adequately to stop the aggressive form of the disease and those who should avoid overtreatment of the indolent form.A biomarker is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biologic processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. A biomarker reveals further information to presently existing clinical and pathological analysis. It facilitates screening and detecting the cancer, monitoring the progression of the disease, and predicting the prognosis and survival after clinical intervention. A biomarker can also be used to evaluate the process of drug development, and, optimally, to improve the efficacy and safety of cancer treatment by enabling physicians to tailor treatment for individual patients. The form of the prostate cancer biomarkers can vary from metabolites and chemical products present in body fluid to genes and proteins in the prostate tissues.Current advances in molecular techniques have provided new tools facilitating the discovery of new biomarkers for prostate cancer. These emerging biomarkers will be beneficial and critical in developing new and clinically reliable indicators that will have a high specificity for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. The purpose of this review is to examine the current status of prostate cancer biomarkers, with special emphasis on emerging markers, by evaluating their diagnostic and prognostic potentials. Both genes and proteins that reveal loss, mutation, or variation in expression between normal prostate and cancerous prostate tissues will be covered in this article. Along with the discovery of prostate cancer biomarkers, we will describe the criteria used when selecting potential biomarkers for further development towards clinical use. In addition, we will address how to appraise and validate candidate markers for prostate cancer and some relevant issues involved in these processes. We will also discuss the new concept of the biomarkers, existing challenges, and perspectives of biomarker development.

Human Kallikrein-2, Prostate Specific Antigen and Free-Prostate Specific Antigen in Combination to Discriminate Prostate Cancer from Benign Diseases in Syrian Patients

“…The standard practice of screening for prostate cancer includes PSA, with or without digital rectal exam test (DRE), starting at the age of 50 years in all males or earlier in men with certain risk factors. However, only according to the prostate biopsy results we can confirm the prostate cancer diagnosis (Shariat et al, 2008;Madu et al, 2010;Heidenreich et al, 2014).…”

Awareness of General Public Towards Cancer Prostate and Screening Practice in Arabic Communities: a Comparative Multi-Center Study

“…Over the past decade, screening for prostate cancer with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and digital rectal examination (DRE) has been the subject of intense investigation in the medical community (Lin et al, 2008;Hamashima et al, 2009;Schröder et al, 2009;Madu and Lu, 2010). Although much has been learned about the performance characteristics of these screening tests, their ability to detect clinically significant prostate cancer when it is still curable is not completely established (llic et al, 2011).…”

A Survey of Knowledge About and Perceived Barriers to Prostate Cancer Screening Among Medical Staff

“…African-American race) are among the relevant risk factors (9). The nature of prostate cancer is such that as long as there is no local progression or metastasis to other parts of the body, it usually does not cause any symptoms (10), and on presentation of symptoms, the disease usually has run its course. Therefore, early detection of the disease in its early stages can be an effective measure in reducing its mortality rate in asymptomatic men (11,12), and creates an opportunity to use effective and inexpensive treatment methods (13).…”