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The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and physiologically. Anatomically, the prostate is found below the bladder, with the urethra passing through it. It is described in gross anatomy as consisting of lobes and in microanatomy by zone. It is surrounded by an elastic, fibromuscular capsule and contains glandular tissue, as well as connective tissue.
Prostate cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of prostate tissue is usually detected through screening tests, typically blood tests that check for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Those with high levels of PSA in their blood are at increased risk for developing prostate cancer. Diagnosis requires a biopsy of the prostate. If cancer is present, the pathologist assigns a Gleason score, and a higher score represents a more dangerous tumor. Medical imaging is performed to look for cancer that has spread outside the prostate. Based on the Gleason score, PSA levels, and imaging results, a cancer case is assigned a stage 1 to 4. A higher stage signifies a more advanced, more dangerous disease.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), also known as gamma-seminoprotein or kallikrein-3 (KLK3), P-30 antigen, is a glycoprotein enzyme encoded in humans by the KLK3 gene. PSA is a member of the kallikrein-related peptidase family and is secreted by the epithelial cells of the prostate gland in men and the paraurethral glands in women.
Hybridoma technology is a method for producing large numbers of identical antibodies, also called monoclonal antibodies. This process starts by injecting a mouse with an antigen that provokes an immune response. A type of white blood cell, the B cell, produces antibodies that bind to the injected antigen. These antibody producing B-cells are then harvested from the mouse and, in turn, fused with immortal myeloma cancer cells, to produce a hybrid cell line called a hybridoma, which has both the antibody-producing ability of the B-cell and the longevity and reproductivity of the myeloma.
A tumor marker is a biomarker that can be used to indicate the presence of cancer or the behavior of cancers. They can be found in bodily fluids or tissue. Markers can help with assessing prognosis, surveilling patients after surgical removal of tumors, and even predicting drug-response and monitor therapy.
Samuel Ray Denmeade is a Professor of Oncology, Urology and pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Over 10 of his published papers have each been cited over 100 times.
Prostate biopsy is a procedure in which small hollow needle-core samples are removed from a man's prostate gland to be examined for the presence of prostate cancer. It is typically performed when the result from a PSA blood test is high. It may also be considered advisable after a digital rectal exam (DRE) finds possible abnormality. PSA screening is controversial as PSA may become elevated due to non-cancerous conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), by infection, or by manipulation of the prostate during surgery or catheterization. Additionally many prostate cancers detected by screening develop so slowly that they would not cause problems during a man's lifetime, making the complications due to treatment unnecessary.
Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), also prostatic specific acid phosphatase (PSAP), is an enzyme produced by the prostate. It may be found in increased amounts in men who have prostate cancer or other diseases.
Prostate cancer screening is the screening process used to detect undiagnosed prostate cancer in men without signs or symptoms. When abnormal prostate tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat and cure, but it is unclear if early detection reduces mortality rates.
In medicine, a biomarker is a measurable indicator of the severity or presence of some disease state. It may be defined as a "cellular, biochemical or molecular alteration in cells, tissues or fluids that can be measured and evaluated to indicate normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention." More generally a biomarker is anything that can be used as an indicator of a particular disease state or some other physiological state of an organism. According to the WHO, the indicator may be chemical, physical, or biological in nature - and the measurement may be functional, physiological, biochemical, cellular, or molecular.
Homeobox protein Nkx-3.1, also known as NKX3-1, NKX3, BAPX2, NKX3A and NKX3.1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NKX3-1 gene located on chromosome 8p. NKX3-1 is a prostatic tumor suppressor gene.
Homeobox protein engrailed-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EN2 gene. It is a member of the engrailed gene family.
Golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1) also known as Golgi phosphoprotein 2 or Golgi membrane protein GP73 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GOLM1 gene. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been described for this gene.
Prostate cancer antigen 3 is a gene that expresses a non-coding RNA. PCA3 is only expressed in human prostate tissue, and the gene is highly overexpressed in prostate cancer. Because of its restricted expression profile, the PCA3 RNA is useful as a tumor marker.
A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the presence of cancer. Genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, glycomic, and imaging biomarkers can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and epidemiology. Ideally, such biomarkers can be assayed in non-invasively collected biofluids like blood or serum.
Andrew Julian Vickers is a biostatistician and attending research methodologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Since 2013, he has also been professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is the statistical editor for the peer-reviewed journal European Urology.
Kevin M. Slawin is an American physician and the founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and the Vanguard Urologic Institute at Memorial Hermann Medical Group. He was also the Director of Urology at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Slawin specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of urologic cancers and robotic surgery. He is also possesses patents related to the advancement of prostate cancer diagnosis, staging and treatment and to the cellular immunotherapy of cancer.
Thymidine kinase is an enzyme, a phosphotransferase : 2'-deoxythymidine kinase, ATP-thymidine 5'-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.21 that catalyzes the reaction:
GTx-758 is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen which was under development by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. As of 2016, it had completed two phase II clinical trials.
Alan Wayne Partin was an American prostate surgeon and researcher. He was the Jakurski Family Director of the Brady Urological Institute, Urologist-In-Chief of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and professor of Urology, Pathology, and Oncology. In 1993, he developed the PartinTables to help prostate cancer patients get an accurate prediction of their likelihood of being cured.
References
- ↑ Paul B, Dhir R, Landsittel D, Hitchens MR, Getzenberg RH (May 2005). "Detection of prostate cancer with a blood-based assay for early prostate cancer antigen". Cancer Res. 65 (10): 4097–100. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-4523 . PMID 15899799.
- ↑ Dhir R, Vietmeier B, Arlotti J, et al. (April 2004). "Early identification of individuals with prostate cancer in negative biopsies". J. Urol. 171 (4): 1419–23. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000116545.94813.27. PMID 15017188.
- ↑ Leman ES, Cannon GW, Trock BJ, et al. (April 2007). "EPCA-2: a highly specific serum marker for prostate cancer". Urology. 69 (4): 714–20. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2007.01.097. PMID 17445657. (Retracted, see doi:10.1016/j.urology.2012.01.001, PMID 22413136, Retraction Watch ) (Retracted)
- ↑ Nick Mulcahy (January 5, 2012). "'Amazing' Prostate Cancer Marker: Paper Now Retracted". Medscape. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Researcher, Two Universities Sued Over Validity of Prostate Cancer Test".
- ↑ "Onconome Sues Researcher, Pitt, and Hopkins for Alleged Research Fraud over Prostate Biomarkers". 9 September 2009.