Molecular profiling of prostate cancer

The ability to distinguish between aggressive and nonaggressive tumors has not changed despite vast improvements in the detection of prostate cancer (PCA). To improve predictive accuracy, additional PCA-specific biomarkers must be identified and it is the emerging microarray technology and gene expression profiling that appear to be capable of achieving this goal. Through comparisons of a number of published microarray studies of PCA, several potential biomarkers appear on the horizon, including the serine protease Hepsin, a-methylacyl CoA racemase, and the human homologue of the Drosophila protein Enhancer of Zeste. Although these markers will move toward validation by eventual protein expression studies, another aspect of microarray expression, global signature expression patterns through multidimensional scaling, appears to be promising in distinguishing between aggressive and nonaggressive forms of PCA or in distinguishing PCA from benign prostatic hyperplasia or normal prostate tissue.