Porphyrins are increased in the faeces of patients with prostate cancer: a case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundExperimental models of prostate cancer have demonstrated increased levels of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in the blood and faeces of mice. Hence, the quantification of these autofluorescent molecules could be hypothesized to be a potential marker for this type of tumour. In this case-control study, the autofluorescence of porphyrins in human faeces from patients with prostate cancer and control subjects was analysed using fluorescence spectroscopy.MethodsFirst, 3 mL of analytical-grade acetone was added to 0.3 g of faeces, and the mixture was macerated and centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was analysed spectroscopically. The emission spectra from 550 to 750 nm were obtained by exciting the samples at 405 nm.ResultsA significant difference between the samples from control and cancer subjects was established in the spectral region of 670–675 nm (p = 0.000127), which corresponds to a significant increase in faecal porphyrins in patients with cancer. There was no statistically significant correlation between PSA levels and faecal porphyrins.ConclusionIn this preliminary study conducted in humans, the results show a simple and non-invasive method to assess faecal porphyrins, which have the potential to function as a tumour biomarker in patients with prostate cancer. This approach has improved sensitivity and specificity over PSA testing. Additional prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required to validate these findings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-5030-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

SARS-CoV-2, hemoglobin and protoporphyrin IX: Interactions and perspectives

“…Fluorescence spectroscopy is particularly important for disease diagnosis [ [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. The fluorescence emission from different natural fluorophores in biological tissues is obtained by exciting them with ultraviolet or visible light.…”

“…In general, fast proliferating cells may accumulate more porphyrins preferentially. Besides porphyria patients, cancer, and atherosclerosis patients present increased PpIX concentration in tissues and blood, and PpIX fluorescence can be applied for these diseases’ diagnosis [ 2 , 3 , 19 ].…”

PPIX-binding Proteins Reveal Porphyrin Synthesis and Ferroptosis Link

“…Our discoveries suggest that ferroptosis might be a mechanism contributing to cell death under PPIX elevation due to an alteration of the heme/porphyrin pathway activity related to genetic disease, cancer, or toxin exposure 89, 90 ,. These findings suggest that using biotin appended molecules might be applied to identify relationships between such molecules and the biological pathways the impact.…”

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“…Moreover, elevated serum PpIX may not exclusively be related to HGG aALA. Instead, porphyrins have been investigated in a variety of oncological diseases, including prostate tumors 28 , 64 , breast cancer 26 , renal cell carcinoma 27 , colorectal cancer 25 , 43 , bladder cancer 31 , 41 , hepatocellular carcinoma 42 and pancreatic cancer 44 . It was extrapolated that the accumulation of porphyrins is common to almost all types of cancer 26 – 28 and that the specific measurement of PpIX is advantageous for cancer screening in general 31 .…”