Guiding Treatment Decisions in Cancer using Protein Biomarker Measurements: from Design to Utility

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SELECTBIO

In Europe and the US, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in men and the second most common cause of male cancer-related death. At present, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the only molecular biomarker widely used in the diagnosis and management of patients with prostate cancer. Disappointingly, PSA levels cannot distinguish indolent from aggressive disease warranting an urgent need to identify clinically relevant biomarkers that will improve the management and treatment of prostate cancer patients. We have developed a gel and label-free LC-MS based ‘proteomic pipeline' for protein biomarker discovery using a ‘clinical question driven’ strategy. Candidate biomarkers have been assessed by feature selection and classification using a range of statistical methods and assembled into a panel. Currently, potential 'protein biomarker signatures' are being tested by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) based simultaneous measurement of multiple candidate biomarkers from the panel with some success. The potential of this approach in advancing more patient tailored approaches for the delivery of personalised patient care for prostate cancer and other diseases will be discussed.