PCA3 and TMPRSS2-ERG: Promising Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

The search for the biomarkers to precisely and non-invasively characterize the biology of prostate cancer (PCa) is the focus of many laboratories across the world. Although prostate-specific antigen (PSA) remains the standard diagnostic tool for PCa, its low specificity leads to unnecessary biopsies in a substantial number of patients. More importantly, with the current status of knowledge, it is very difficult to early identify individuals with a life-threatening disease who require an immediate treatment. The significant advances in genetics and biotechnology in recent years has led to the discovery of new molecular markers including PCA3 and the TMPRSS2:ERG genomic fusion. Both PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG, compared to PSA, show an increased specificity in PCa detection. However, the quest for a single PCa marker that can fully satisfy urologists and their patients is still ongoing. The aim of this review is to present the recent findings on PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG and to describe their clinical implications and performance.