Uncovering a Sign of Prostate Cancer: Scientists Make a Breakthrough

Scientists from the Tyumen Medical University, as part of an international group of scientists, have discovered a sign that a person has prostate cancer, which makes it possible to diagnose an infection and monitor its development.

The journal Non-coding RNA Research, citing scientists from the Tyumen Medical University, indicates that so far there have been no reliable indicators to help distinguish aggressive types of prostate cancer from its slow and non-aggressive forms.

An international scientific team discovered this indicator by analyzing the activity of microRNA-153 (short non-coding RNA molecules with a high potential for detecting biomarkers) in patients with prostate cancer at different stages.

The results of a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction study showed that miRNA-153 expression is significantly increased in metastatic prostate tumors compared to non-metastatic tumors.

“To assess the predictive power of miRNA-153 in relation to metastasis, we analyzed the “error curve” — that is, the ratio of organisms with a trait to all organisms,” says researcher Averin Billerly from the university. miRNA can be used as a potential predictive marker with a sensitivity of 72 percent and a specificity of 86 percent. We have also demonstrated that high expression of miRNA-153 increases the risk of metastasis by almost three times.”

The international team plans to continue searching for microscopic molecules that can predict the progression of a prostate tumor to metastases. The discovery of more aggressive markers of prostate cancer, according to scientists, will help develop more reliable test systems for predicting the course of the disease.

Source: News