Molecular diagnosis of prostate cancer

Time-resolved single-step protease activity quantification using nanoplasmonic resonator sensors

Protease activity measurement has broad application in drug screening, diagnosis and disease staging, and molecular profiling. However, conventional immunopeptidemetric assays (IMPA) exhibit low fluorescence signal-to-noise ratios, preventing reliable measurements at lower concentrations in the clinically important picomolar to nanomolar range. Here, we demonstrated a highly sensitive measurement of protease activity using a nanoplasmonic resonator (NPR). NPRs enhance Raman signals by 6.1 x 10(10) times in a highly reproducible manner, enabling fast detection of proteolytically active prostate-specific antigen (paPSA) activities in real-time, at a sensitivity level of 6 pM (0.2 ng/mL) with a dynamic range of 3 orders of magnitude. Experiments on extracellular fluid (ECF) from the paPSA-positive cells demonstrate specific detection in a complex biofluid background. This method offers a fast, sensitive, accurate, and one-step approach to detect the proteases' activities in very small sample volumes.

Multimarker circulating DNA assay for assessing blood of prostate cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer (PCa) detection using serum-based prostate specific antigen (PSA) is limited by frequent false-positive and -negative results. Genetic aberrations such as allelic imbalance (AI) and epigenetic changes such as promoter hypermethylation have been detected in circulating DNA of cancer patients. We hypothesized that circulating multimarker DNA assays detecting both genetic and epigenetic markers in serum would be useful in assessing PCa patients.

METHODS

We assayed blood from healthy male donors (n = 40) and 83 patients with American Joint Cancer Committee (AJCC) stage I-IV PCa. DNA was assayed for AI of 6 genome microsatellites. We assessed methylation of RASSF1, RARB2, and GSTP1 using a methylation-specific PCR assay and analyzed the sensitivity of each assay for the detection of genetic or epigenetic changes in circulating DNA. The relation between circulating tumor-related DNA detection and prognostic factors was investigated.

RESULTS

The proportion of patients demonstrating AI for > or =1 marker was 47% (38 of 81 patients). Methylation biomarkers were detected in 24 of 83 patients (28%). By combining 2 DNA assays, the number of PCa patients positive for > or =1 methylated or LOH marker increased (52 of 83; 63%). The combined assays detected PCa in 15 of 24 patients (63%) with normal PSA concentrations. The combination of the DNA assays detected the presence of PCa regardless of AJCC stage or PSA concentration. Combination of the DNA and PSA assays gave 89% sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study demonstrates that the combined circulating DNA multimarker assay identifies patients with PCa and may yield information independent of AJCC stage or PSA concentration.