Extracellular RNAs from Whole Urine to Distinguish Prostate Cancer from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Oncology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate cellular functions and are implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression.
• Altered ncRNA expression is a hallmark of PCa, influencing disease initiation, progression, and treatment response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the potential of specific long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to differentiate PCa from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
• To optimize RNA extraction and analysis protocols for urine samples for biomarker discovery.

Main Methods:

• Literature mining to identify relevant differentially expressed RNAs in PCa biofluids.
• Real-time PCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) for quantifying RNA levels in urine samples from 50 PCa and 50 BPH patients.
• Optimization of urine sample processing and RNA extraction.

Main Results:

• Specific miRNAs (miR-27b-3p, miR-574-3p, miR-30a-5p, miR-125b-5p) exhibited higher discriminatory power for PCa than lncRNAs and mRNAs.
• Dysregulation of these miRNAs in urine was consistently observed in PCa patients compared to BPH patients, irrespective of the quantification method.
• Combinations of miRNAs enhanced diagnostic performance significantly.

Conclusions:

• Circulating miRNAs in urine are effective non-invasive biomarkers for distinguishing PCa from BPH.
• These miRNA signatures hold potential for reducing prostate cancer overdiagnosis through improved diagnostic accuracy.