In Silico Design of Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) Assay Probes for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis,...

Prostate cancer is one of the world's leading causes of cancer-related mortalities. There are several diagnostic tools and treatment plans readily available, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). However, these all come with their setbacks. Therefore, alternatives must be developed to assist those patients for whom standardised treatment does not work. There are many genes whose mutations lead to prostate cancer development and progression. These mutations may also lead to higher resistance/vulnerability to specific therapies. In this in silico study, four genes, AR, ATM, PTEN, and TP53, were assessed, and mutations were chosen for qPCR primer and probe design. A total of 28 mutations were selected from the four genes, with PTEN (13) making up the majority of the mutations, followed by TP53 (six), then ATM (five), and finally, AR (four). All primer/probe combinations fall within the desired ranges for this study and provide valuable additions to prostate cancer's diagnostic/prognostic landscape. These assays will require further experimental validation, but they are the first step toward a better future in the fight against this horrible disease.