Cancer Research Lab

The level of a particular type of non-cancerous DNA fragment circulating in the sera of prostate cancer patients appears to be useful as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator, German researchers report in the January issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

“The detection of short circulating DNA fragments in patients’ serum allows distinguishing of prostate cancer patients and patients with benign prostate hyperplasia — including healthy controls — sensitively and specifically,” lead investigator Dr. Jorg Ellinger said.

Dr. Ellinger, of University Clinic Bonn, and colleagues studied 168 patients with prostate cancer, 5 with incidental prostate cancer, 42 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 11 healthy controls.

Distinctively more elevated median concentrations of cell-free PTS2 fragments were seen in the cancer patients (70.2 ng/mL) than in the BPH group (10.5 ng/mL) or controls (7.1 ng/mL). The apoptosis index (AI) was also significantly increased in the cancer patients.

The concentration of PTGS2 fragments allowed discrimination of prostate cancer from BPH with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 64%. Corresponding proportions using the AI were 70% and 82%.

Thus, continued Dr. Ellinger, “the diagnostic information of cell-free DNA fragments was well above the diagnostic information of prostate specific antigen testing in our patient cohort.”

“Furthermore, patients with increased levels of cell-free DNA had a shorter period of PSA-recurrence free survival following radical prostatectomy.”

“These data indicate that cell-free DNA may be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker, but further validation in prospective studies is necessary,” he concluded.