Non-DRE Voided Urine Test to Diagnose Prostate Cancer: Updated Results

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Standard prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis relies on PSA testing, DRE, and biopsies, which are invasive and costly.
• Research is exploring alternative, less invasive methods like serum and urine assays for PCa detection.
• A novel noninvasive optical technique targets VPAC receptors overexpressed on PCa malignant cells (MC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a novel noninvasive optical technique for detecting PCa in non-DRE voided urine.
• To assess the correlation between VPAC receptor expression on MC and PCa severity.
• To evaluate the assay's specificity and reliability compared to existing methods.

Main Methods:

• Collected non-DRE voided urine samples from 62 PCa patients and 97 BPH patients.
• Incubated urine cells with TP4303 fluorophore targeting VPAC receptors and DAPI for nuclear staining.
• Analyzed cell counts and fluorescent intensity using microscopy and specialized software.

Main Results:

• PCa malignant cells (MC) were detected in voided urine, with increasing shedding and fluorescence intensity correlating with higher Gleason grades.
• The assay demonstrated 89.6% specificity for BPH patients.
• A 100% negative predictive value (NPV) was observed for BPH patients.

Conclusions:

• PCa MC can be detected in non-DRE voided urine by targeting VPAC receptors.
• The quantity of MC shed and fluorescence intensity correlate with PCa severity.
• This optical urine assay offers a simple, noninvasive, and potentially cost-effective preliminary detection method for PCa.