Nephron / WikimediaAn adenocarcinoma under a microscope: the most common type of prostate cancerNephron / Wikimedia
Unique combinations of urine proteins could help physicians diagnose prostate cancer, the second most deadly type of tumor in men. Researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada, and at research centers in the United States examined urine samples of 90 men with different stages of prostate cancer and compared them to samples from 117 healthy individuals. The analyses revealed 133 proteins that were present in greater or lesser quantity in one or the other group. Of that total, 34 may be potentially useful as markers of tumor progression, and 14 showed quantitative differences between men with and without metastasis (Nature Communications, June 28, 2016). In the study, the protein combinations identified the stage of cancer with 70% accuracy, above the predictive level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the most widely used test in early diagnosis. According to the researchers, if this approach works properly in the next assessment, expected to include 1,000 participants, it could become a new non-invasive test for prostate cancer.
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