Abstract
The discovery of new diagnostic tools for the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) has become an important field of research. In this study, we analyzed the diagnostic value of the expression of the pepsinogen C (PGC) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) genes in tissue samples obtained from prostate biopsies. This study was comprised of 51 consecutive patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsies between January 2010 and March 2010. The biopsies were performed with 12 cores, and an additional core was randomly retrieved from the peripheral zone from each patient for study purposes. The expression of the PGC and PSMA genes was analyzed from the cDNA from the samples via the qRT-PCR technology. The expression patterns of patients with PCa were compared with those of patients without a PCa diagnosis. PSMA was overexpressed in only 43.4% of PCa cases, and PGC was overexpressed in 72.7% of cases. The median expression of PSMA was 1.5 times (0.1 to 43.9) and the median PGC expression was 8.7 times (0.1 to 50.0) the expression observed in prostatic tissue from TRUS-guided biopsies of normal patients. Analysis of patients with high-risk PCa indicated that PGC was overexpressed in 71.4% of cases (with a median expression of 10.6 times), and PSMA was overexpressed in only 35.7% of cases (with a median expression of 4.5 times). Among patients with low-risk PCa, PGC was also overexpressed in 71.4% of cases (with a median expression of 5.9 times), and PSMA was overexpressed in only 42.8% of cases (with a median expression of 2.5 times). PGC gene expression is significantly higher in prostatic tissue in men affected by PCa when compared to normal prostates. Further analyses are necessary to confirm our results.
Highlights
During transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsies, the peripheral zone is sampled in a random fashion because ultrasonography is largely unable to differentiate tumors from benign tissue
prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) was overexpressed in only 43.4% of prostate cancer (PCa) cases, and pepsinogen C (PGC) was overexpressed in 72.7% of cases
PGC gene expression is significantly higher in prostatic tissue in men affected by PCa when compared to normal prostates
Summary
During TRUS-guided prostate biopsies, the peripheral zone is sampled in a random fashion because ultrasonography is largely unable to differentiate tumors from benign tissue. Significant number of tumors might be missed because 30-40% of PCa cases are anterior or in the midline transition zone of the prostate [2]. Ibju | PGC in prostate cancer diagnosis. As a type II membrane protein with folate hydrolase activity, PSMA is produced by the prostatic epithelium [7]. The role of PSMA in prostate carcinogenesis is unknown, and because it is highly expressed in localized and metastatic PCa, the primary clinical applications of PSMA have been as a marker of the presence of metastatic PCa cells in the circulatory system and as a target protein for the immunotherapy of PCa [8]
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