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PROSTATE CANCER BIOMARKER

69 year old Eugene Brown didn’t understand why he just couldn’t shake some lingering flu symptoms. “My illness hung on for 2 months maybe even three months,” says Eugene.

Eugene’s blood was checked and his psa was off the charts. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer. But the psa test is not specific. A high number can mean benign enlargement of the prostate as well as other conditions. However, researchers here at the University of Michigan have identified a specific gene which if elevated means prostate cancer more than 90% of the time.”
Using the power of advanced DNA technology scientists have identified a gene that triggers production of a specific protein in cancerous prostate cells. Because the protein is present in large amounts only in malignant cells and is easily visible when stained, it could improve the accuracy and sensitivity for prostate cancer screening tests.
According to Dr. Arul Chinnayian, of the University of Michigan, “we use these DNA chips to profile prostate cancer tissue extracts and we identified AMACR as a gene that distinguished prostate cancer from benign prostate.”
AMACR, also known as (a-methylacyl-coa racemase) is a type of protein that is actually an enzyme involved in fat metabolism. AMACR has never been associated prior to this research with any type of cancer.
“Prostate cancer patients make antibodies to AMACR which we can detect in serum and use as a biomarker in prostate cancer,” says Dr. Chinnayian.
Oncologist Dr. Kenneth Pienta of the University of Michigan, says this research will greatly impact diagnosis of prostate cancer. “If there is a question of a prostate cancer diagnosis on a pathologic slide, for the first time we have an extremely specific marker on the pathology slide for prostate cancer.”
Dr. Pienta does believe however that it will not be just one protein or one biomarker that gives definite confirmation of cancer. In fact, researchers here have identified yet another gene which is a marker for aggressive prostate cancer, one that is destined to spread well beyond the prostate.
“What we’re all looking for is a battery of markers that by combining them will hopefully be able to allow us to tell patients more certainly that you do have a high risk,” says Dr. Pienta.
Hopefully, this test will help detect prostate cancer earlier in patients like Eugene.

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