The Urinary Transcriptome as a Source of Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Genomics

Background:

• Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cancer in men, often slow-growing.
• Current screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has limitations, including high false-positive rates.
• There is a critical need for accurate, non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for PCa.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel urinary biomarkers for prostate cancer detection.
• To evaluate the diagnostic potential of the urinary transcriptome.
• To compare biomarker performance in centrifuged versus non-centrifuged urine samples.

Main Methods:

• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to analyze the urinary transcriptome in PCa and benign hyperplasia (BPH) patients.
• Five differentially expressed protein-coding genes were identified: FTH1, BRPF1, OSBP, PHC3, and UACA.
• Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) validated these biomarkers in independent cohorts using centrifuged and non-centrifuged urine.

Main Results:

• Five specific genes (FTH1, BRPF1, OSBP, PHC3, UACA) were found to be differentially expressed in the urine of PCa patients.
• These biomarkers demonstrated the ability to distinguish between PCa, BPH, and healthy controls.
• Effective discrimination was achieved using both centrifuged and non-centrifuged whole urine samples.

Conclusions:

• The urinary transcriptome represents a valuable source for non-invasive PCa biomarkers.
• The identified gene panel shows potential for accurate PCa diagnosis.
• Further investigation is warranted to explore the clinical utility of these urinary biomarkers.