Aberrant PSA glycosylation-a sweet predictor of prostate cancer

Sarah Gilgunn, Paul Conroy, Radka Saldova, Pauline M Rudd, Richard O'Kennedy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

213 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Prostate cancer-the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide-can have a substantial effect on quality of life, regardless of the route the cancer takes. The serum PSA assay is the current gold standard option for diagnosing prostate cancer. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that PSA screening for prostate cancer results in extensive overdiagnosis and overtreatment. It is increasingly evident that the potential harm from overdiagnosis (in terms of unnecessary biopsies) must be weighed against the benefit derived from the early detection and treatment of potentially fatal prostate cancers. Rapid screening methods have been used to analyse glycosylation patterns on glycoproteins in large cohorts of patients, enabling the identification of a new generation of disease biomarkers. Changes to the expression status of certain glycan structures are now widely thought to be common features of tumour progression. In light of this development, much research has focused on the potential role of altered PSA glycosylation patterns in discriminating between significant and insignificant prostate cancers, with the aim of developing a more reliable diagnostic tool than the current serum PSA test.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)99 - 107
Number of pages9
JournalNature Reviews Urology
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

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