Because prostate cancer (PCa) is a heterogeneous disease, researchers from Universitat de Barcelona in Spain say that a combination of biomarkers would outperform single markers in detection. In a previous study, they identified new putative mRNA markers for PCa diagnosis, tested some of those biomarkers, and validated the commercially available test based on urine prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3 ) expression along with the best-performing mRNA panels of biomarkers reported.
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Urine samples collected from 224 men and 10 patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels > 4 were included as controls. Seven of 42 genes that the researchers evaluated were independent predictors for PCa. From these data, the researchers developed a 4-gene expression signature, HIST1H2BG, SPP1, ELF3, and PCA3, with higher diagnostic accuracy than PCA3, the only noninvasive urinary biomarker commercially available. Their 4-gene signature had a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 67% for discriminating between tumor and control urines and a positive predictive value of 83%.
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The researchers say their findings suggest that a urinary biomarker panel could improve detection of PCa. However, they add that the accuracy of the available urinary panels—including their signature—is not yet high enough to warrant using them routinely.
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Mengual L, Lozano JJ, Ingelmo-Torres M, et al. BMC Cancer. 2016;16(1):76.
