A Panel of Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Using Urine Samples

Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis using patient urine samples represents a non-invasive and more convenient method than the conventional biopsy and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This study intended to identify a biomarker panel to distinguish PCa from benign prostate using urine samples.

We identified six biomarkers with differential gene expression in 154 PCa and benign prostate specimens. We then determined mRNA expression signature and the diagnostic performance of the 6-biomarker panel in 156 urine samples from patients with PCa and benign disease.

The 6-biomarker panel distinguished PCa from benign prostate cases with sensitivity of 80.6%, specificity of 62.9% and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.803 (p<0.0001), whereas serum PSA at 4 ng/ml cutoff had sensitivity of 95.5%, specificity of 20.2% and AUC of 0.521 (p<0.0001).

The 6-biomarker panel for use in urine samples was able to distinguish PCa from benign prostate with higher specificity and accuracy than PSA and may be useful in clinical settings.