PCa-24 protein promising in prostate cancer detection

The cellular protein PCa-24 appears to be a highly specific marker for prostate cancer, researchers report in the December 15th issue of Cancer.

Among possible uses, senior investigator Dr. Brian C. -S. Liu told Reuters Health, is that in patients with high prostate specific antigen (PSA), “if PCa-24 is also elevated, the probability that an elevated PSA is due to the presence of prostate cancer is thus greater than in patients with elevated PSA without PCa-24, warranting further medical evaluation.”In the current study, Dr. Liu, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues used a proteomics approach coupled with laser capture microdissection to examine 17 prostate cancer specimens.PCa-24, derived from epithelial cells of the prostate, was detected in 16 of these specimens but not in paired normal cells nor in any of 12 assayed benign prostatic hyperplasia cells.”It is our plan to develop antibodies to the PCa-24,” Dr. Liu said. “With an antibody, it would be possible to develop a simple blood test, very similar but potentially much more accurate than PSA since it appears that only the cancer cells are producing this molecule.”Another potential use, he said, “is with in vivo imaging. One can tag the antibodies and with high resolution imaging techniques, localize the cancer cells that are producing this molecule. Thus, making the staging of the disease much more accurate.”(Source: Cancer 2003;98: Reuters Health: David Douglas: November 3, 2003: Oncolink)