Use of multiple biomarkers for a molecular diagnosis of prostate cancer

Int J Cancer. 2005 May 10;114(6):950-6. doi: 10.1002/ijc.20760.

Abstract

The identification of biomarkers capable of providing a reliable molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer (PCa) is highly desirable clinically. We describe here 4 biomarkers, UDP-N-Acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine transferase (GalNAc-T3; not previously associated with PCa), PSMA, Hepsin and DD3/PCA3, which, in combination, distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). GalNAc-T3 was identified as overexpressed in PCa tissues by microarray analysis, confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR and shown immunohistochemically to be localised to prostate epithelial cells with higher expression in malignant cells. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis across 21 PCa and 34 BPH tissues showed 4.6-fold overexpression of GalNAc-T3 (p = 0.005). The noncoding mRNA (DD3/PCA3) was overexpressed 140-fold (p = 0.007) in the cancer samples compared to BPH tissues. Hepsin was overexpressed 21-fold (p = 0.049, whereas the overexpression for PSMA was 66-fold (p = 0.047). When the gene expression data for these 4 biomarkers was combined in a logistic regression model, a predictive index was obtained that distinguished 100% of the PCa samples from all of the BPH samples. Therefore, combining these genes in a real-time PCR assay represents a powerful new approach to diagnosing PCa by molecular profiling. (Supplemental material for this article can be found on the International Journal of Cancer website at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0020-7136/suppmat/index.html.)

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / diagnosis*
  • Adenocarcinoma / genetics*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Male
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases / analysis
  • N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases / genetics
  • Neoplasm Proteins / analysis
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prostatic Hyperplasia / diagnosis*
  • Prostatic Hyperplasia / genetics*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases