KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to evaluate a novel liquid biopsy method for accurately distinguishing PCa from hyperplasia.
- The new liquid biopsy method has the potential to enhance PCa screening by offering a non-invasive and more accurate diagnostic tool.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent cancer among men globally, with its incidence on the rise. Early detection is essential for improving patient outcomes, yet the current screening methods have notable limitations. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, while widely used, lacks specificity, resulting in a high rate of false positives and leading to unnecessary biopsies.
Traditional biopsy techniques are invasive and carry potential complications. In contrast, liquid biopsy methods, which analyze biomarkers in blood or other bodily fluids, offer a non-invasive and more accurate approach for detecting and characterizing prostate tumors.
Emanuele Martorana and the team aimed to assess the effectiveness of a novel liquid biopsy method based on specific combinations of vesicular markers.
Researchers performed an inclusive analysis using a novel liquid biopsy method for PCa, which involved identifying specific proteins in extracellular vesicles isolated from the blood of patients. A total of 54 individuals, including 42 patients with PCa and 12 individuals with benign prostatic hyperplasia, were enrolled in this multicenter study conducted across 5 participating PCa centers.
About the results, a specific combination of sEV proteins was identified as a sensitive indicator of PCa. The study found that the number of clusters expressed by specific combinations of either intra-vesicular (STAT3 and CyclinD1) or surface proteins (ERBB3, ALK, and CD81) significantly discriminated patients with PCa from individuals with hyperplasia.
The study concluded that this new liquid biopsy method has the potential to improve PCa screening by providing a non-invasive and more accurate diagnostic tool.
This study was partially funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), grant number ARS01_00492, project name “Biopsie Liquide per la Gestione Clinica dei Tumori (BiLiGeCT)”.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39120316/
Martorana E, Raciti G, Giuffrida R, et al. (2024). “A Novel Liquid Biopsy Method Based on Specific Combinations of Vesicular Markers Allows Us to Discriminate Prostate Cancer from Hyperplasia.” Cells. 2024 Jul 31;13(15):1286. doi: 10.3390/cells13151286. PMID: 39120316; PMCID: PMC11311686.
