MONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A panel of prostate cancer biomarkers found in urine samples more effectively detected prostate cancer than serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), according to research published in the Feb. 1 issue of Cancer Research.
Bharathi Laxman, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues analyzed data from 138 men with prostate cancer and 96 who were biopsy-negative. The researchers assessed seven commonly accepted biomarkers for prostate cancer or subsets of cancers: PCA3, AMACR, GOLPH2, ERG, TMPRSS2:ERG, TFF3 and SPINK1.
Univariate analysis found that increased GOLPH2, SPINK1 and PCA3 transcript expression and TMPRSS2:ERG fusion status predicted prostate cancer. In addition, a panel including these biomarkers detected cancer better than PSA or PCA3 alone. The sensitivity of this combined model was 65.9 percent, and the specificity was 76 percent. Urine-based testing for the PCA3 gene has already been demonstrated, but multiple-marker tests may identify more cases, the authors write.
"The multiplex urine test presented here achieves a specificity and positive predictive value of greater than 75 percent, establishing a basic framework for the development of a urine multiplex test for the non-invasive detection of prostate cancer. These results support examination of larger cohorts across multiple institutions for further validation. Future studies will be directed at improving the performance of this first-generation urine multiplex test by evaluating additional markers and improving risk stratification and patient counseling before treatment decision making," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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