Aim: Sarcosine has been identified as a differential metabolite that is greatly increased during progression from normal tissue to prostate cancer and metastatic disease.
In this study we assessed the role of serum sarcosine in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients.
Patients & Methods: Data from 52 mCRPC patients treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curves, and Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariate analyses were performed.
Results: Median sarcosine values were significantly higher in mCRPC versus non-mCRPC patients (0.81 vs 0.52 nmol/µl; p < 0.0001). A significant correlation resulted between serum sarcosine levels and the duration of hormone sensitivity (Spearman's correlation coefficient: -0.51; p = 0.001). At multivariate analysis sarcosine was an independent prognostic factor of outcome in terms of overall and progression-free survival.
Conclusion: Serum sarcosine values were significantly increased in patients with metastatic disease. Moreover, this biomarker is a risk factor for progression and survival in chemotherapy-treated mCRPC patients.
Written by:
Lucarelli G, Ditonno P, Bettocchi C, Spilotros M, Rutigliano M, Vavallo A, Galleggiante V, Fanelli M, Larocca AM, Germinario CA, Maiorano E, Selvaggi FP, Battaglia M. Are you the author?
Department of Emergency & Organ Transplantation, Urology, Andrology & Kidney Transplantation Unit Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Reference: Future Oncol. 2013 Jun;9(6):899-907.
doi: 10.2217/fon.13.50
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23718310
