Detecting Novel Urine Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer: Platelet Derived Growth Factor-BB as a Possible New Target

Although the prostate specific antigen revolutionized the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), it has its limitations. We prospectively examined the potential use of the platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) as a urine biomarker for the early diagnosis of PCa.

The urine samples of 118 patients were collected after a prostatic massage and all the patients subsequently underwent ultrasound-guided transrectal biopsy. PDGF-BB was detected in the urine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Patients with PCa had greater levels of prostate specific antigen and PDGF-BB. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-of of PDGF-BB for the prediction of PCa was 1,504.9 with a sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 51.3%. For a 100 unit increase in PDGF-BB, the likelihood for PCa increased about 4%.

PDGF-BB showed a significant predictive ability for PCa. Detection of PDGF-BB in urine with Elisa was easy and improved our diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis of PCa.

Current urology. 2018 Jun 30 [Epub]

Athanasios Skarmoutsos, Ioannis Skarmoutsos, Ioannis Katafigiotis, Elisavet Tataki, Athina Giagini, Christos Alamanis, Ioannis Anastasiou, Anastasios Angelou, Mordechai Duvdevani, Nikolaos Sitaras, Constantinos Constantinides

First University Urology Clinic Laiko Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece., Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece., Department of Urology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.