Recent Advances in the Detection of Prostate Cancer Using Epigenetic Markers in Commonly Collected Laboratory Samples

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed in men and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. The slower progression of prostate cancer compared with other types of cancers makes it particularly amenable to early diagnosis with significantly better outcomes. Currently, screening with a digital rectal exam and the detection of an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) constitutes the standard of care. However, PSA testing can inappropriately miss some patients with cancer and falsely identify healthy patients to be at an increased risk of prostate cancer, leading to unnecessary biopsies. This has led to the search for alternative and/or adjunct biomarkers of prostate cancer. This article discusses how the detection of epigenetic biomarkers, specifically hypermethylation of specific DNA regions (CpG islands), is being used experimentally for the first time for the early detection of prostate cancer in commonly used laboratory specimens including plasma, serum, and urine to improve PCa diagnostics. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]