Identification of a novel prostate cancer biomarker, caveolin-1: Implications and potential clinical benefit

While prostate cancer is a common disease in men, it is uncommonly life-threatening. To better understand this phenomenon, tumor biologists have sought to elucidate the mechanisms that contribute to the development of virulent prostate cancer. The recent discovery that caveolin-1 (Cav-1) functions as an important oncogene involved in prostate cancer progression reflects the success of this effort. Cav-1 is a major structural coat protein of caveolae, specialized plasma membrane invaginations involved in multiple cellular functions, including molecular transport, cell adhesion, and signal transduction. Cav-1 is aberrantly overexpressed in human prostate cancer, with higher levels evident in metastatic versus primary sites. Intracellular Cav-1 promotes cell survival through activation of Akt and enhancement of additional growth factor pro-survival pathways. Cav-1 is also secreted as a biologically active molecule that promotes cell survival and angiogenesis within the tumor microenvironment. Secreted Cav-1 can be reproducibly detected in peripheral blood using a sensitive and specific immunoassay. Cav-1 levels distinguish men with prostate cancer from normal controls, and preoperative Cav-1 levels predict which patients are at highest risk for relapse following radical prostatectomy for localized disease. Thus, secreted Cav-1 is a promising biomarker in identifying clinically significant prostate cancer.