Autoantibodies as serum biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in males. A highly sensitive, selective, noninvasive screening assay is needed to diagnose prostate cancer and to monitor effectiveness of treatment or recurrence. We propose to develop a diagnostic assay based on autoantibodies as serological markers for cancer diagnosis because of the general absence of these autoantibodies in normal individuals and noncancer conditions. Key to this methodology is that the immune system creates a huge amplification of signal through the development of antibodies to cancer-associated antigens. There is a 10e7-9 increase in measurable signal caused by the production of antibodies by B cells. These assays can be diluted 1:100 and still generate a significant signal. The goal of this proposal is to identify antigens reactive to autoantibodies in patients diagnosed with primary prostate cancer for the early detection of the disease. The identification of a panel of antigens reactive to autoantibodies will pave the way to the development of sensitive and selective, prostate cancer-specific noninvasive diagnostic assays useful for rapid screening of large patient populations.