Prostate cancer (CaP), an adenocarcinoma of the prostate, is the most common cancer in American males over the age of 55 and the second cause of cancer-related mortality. The current diagnosis of prostate cancer is based on the measurements of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Unfortunately, serum PSA values are not able to distinguish benign prostatic hypertrophy (benign hypertrophy of the prostate gland (BPH)) from malignancy. Moreover, over 16% of all men that develop CaP have normal serum PSA levels with low velocity (the rate of PSA change over time). In addition, a digital rectal examination is not an objective test, and a prostate biopsy is an invasive procedure. Moreover, both examinations are not usually done by a general medical practitioner (GP) during annual medical assessments. Hence, there is a clear need for a simple assay that general medical practitioners can use for identifying high-risk males for further assessment of suspected CaP.
CCL2 is a key chemokine that drives the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (Loberg et al, 2007; Izhak et al 2009). The results of our studies clearly show that more than 80% of men with newly diagnosed CaP, but not those with benign hypertrophy of the prostate gland (BPH) or healthy males, have a markedly elevated serum titer of CCL2 antibodies, and that the development of these antibodies is selective for the malignant stage, even in PSAlow subjects (Izhak et al 2010; Wildbaum, Friedman, Stein and Karin, unpublished data). Therefore, we suggest adding this assay to the existing diagnostic methods will assist the general medical practitioners for giving priority to high-risk CaP candidates for further urological examinations. Moreover, this assay may assist urologists in identifying high-risk candidates for intensive follow-up treatment and management.
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