Prognostic and predictive biomarkers of prostate cancer

In the era of personalized treatment, oncologists are striving to tailor medical treatment to the characteristics of the individual patient, emphasizing the importance of a continuous search for accurate biomarkers. Prognostic biomarkers reflect the intricate underlying biology that enables cancer to progress. Intratumoural heterogeneity includes genetic, epigenetic and functional heterogeneity. Genetic intratumour heterogeneity is a consequence of clonal evolution and a cause of desease progression. Herewith specific mutations are associated with particular stages of tumour development, correlates with specific histopathological disease stages. Many patients with prostate cancer have disease recurrence after resection of the tumor despite adjuvant therapy, while some patients dont have a relapse despite the absence of treatment. So the reassessment of the current criteria and better prognostic and predictive biomarkers for the selection of patients who might benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy are urgently needed. A prognostic biomarker reflects the natural history of the tumor and provides information on the likely outcome and prognosis, independent of a specific treatment. Predictive biomarkers indicate the sensitivity or resistance of the tumor to a given treatment. Some markers can be both prognostic and predictive. Gene mutations and epigenetic changes that modify the intracellular signaling pathways may be important factors in oncogenesis. In this context, oncogenes, genes-tumor suppressors and miRNAs have attracted attention as potential biomarkers and regulators of oncogenesis and evaluate in clinical trials.

prostate cancer, biomarker, tumoural heterogeneity, oncogene, gene-tumor suppressor, mutation, hypermethylation, microRNA