Research Unit in Biomedicine and Translational and Pediatric Oncology, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Several studies have demonstrated the usefulness of monitoring an RNA transcript, such as PCA3, in post-prostate massage (PM) urine for increasing the specificity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the detection of prostate cancer (PCa). However, a single marker may not necessarily reflect the multifactorial nature of PCa.
We analyzed post-PM urine samples from 154 consecutive patients, who presented for prostate biopsies because of elevated serum PSA (>4 ng/ml) and/or abnormal digital rectal exam. We tested whether the putative PCa biomarkers PSMA, PSGR, and PCA3 could be detected by quantitative real-time PCR in post-PM urine sediment. We combined these findings to test if a combination of these biomarkers could improve the specificity of actual diagnosis. Afterwards, we specifically tested our model for clinical usefulness in the PSA diagnostic "gray zone" (4-10 ng/ml) on a target subset of 82 men with no prior biopsy.
By univariate analysis, we found that the PSMA, PSGR, and PCA3 scores were significant predictors of PCa. Using a multiplex model, the area under the multi receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.74 versus 0.82 in the diagnostic "gray zone." Fixing the sensitivity at 96%, we obtained a specificity of 34% and 50% in the gray zone.
Taken together, these results provide a strategy for the development of a more accurate model for PCa diagnosis. In the future, a multiplexed, urine-based diagnostic test for PCa with a higher specificity, but the same sensitivity as the serum-PSA test, could be used to determine better which patients should undergo biopsy.
Written by:
Rigau M, Ortega I, Mir MC, Ballesteros C, Garcia M, Llauradó M, Colás E, Pedrola N, Montes M, Sequeiros T, Ertekin T, Majem B, Planas J, Ruiz A, Abal M, Sánchez A, Morote J, Reventós J, Doll A. Are you the author?
Reference: Prostate. 2011 Apr 25. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1002/pros.21390
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21520154
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