Clinical utility of microarray-derived genetic signatures in predicting outcomes in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a complex heterogeneous disease, and risk stratification remains a significant clinical challenge. Gene microarray has been developed to provide better prediction of clinical outcomes and potentially improve management of patients with various malignancies, including prostate cancer. Currently, several studies are evaluating the clinical significance of gene expression signatures in prostate cancer. These approaches might provide outcome predictions, such as treatment response, progression-free survival, overall survival, and metastatic status and offer new strategies to identify patients at high risk for personalized cancer therapies. This article discusses the latest developments in gene expression-based signatures that predict clinical behavior of prostate cancer. Gene profiling could lead to enhanced early detection and prognosis of prostate cancer, resulting in improved overall survival. The ability to predict clinical outcomes by the microarray-derived genetic signatures is promising; however, further studies are warranted to optimize its clinical utility in patients with prostate cancer.