Ricerc@Sapienza

Early detection of prostate cancer (PC) is achieved by testing the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in blood, yet PSA cannot discriminate benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) from PC. Metabolomics is a valuable tool to discover new markers, however, only few studies have evaluated the role of metabolomics in distinguishing benign from PC cases, and none have analyzed modifications of metabolomic profiles on different bio-specimens after surgical treatment in PC patients.
Aim of this study is to prospectively identify a set of polar metabolites that could contribute to a better understanding of the processes involved in the onset and progression of PC.
Primary outcomes:
- Untargeted analysis: to identify a set of polar metabolites that are differentially expressed by BPH and PC cases.
- Targeted analysis: to analyzed changes over the time in sarcosine and carnitine expression in patients with PC submitted to radical prostatectomy (RP).
In this prospective research study, 80 patients will be enrolled.
For untargeted analysis, patients will be distinguished into two groups: BPH (group 1) and PC (group 2). In patients diagnosed with PC (group 2), who will undergo RP as primary treatment, targeted analysis will be also performed. For untargeted analysis, urine samples will be collected; for targeted analysis, urine and serum samples will be collected at baseline (the day before surgery) and at 1-month interval; moreover, prostatic tissue from RP specimens will be analyzed.
Expected results:
- Untargeted analysis: we can expect to find metabolites differently expressed in urine of BPH versus PC cases.
- Targeted analysis: in patients with PC, we can expect to find changes in concentration of metabolites of interest (i.e., sarcosine and carnitine) in both urine and blood samples, and PC tissue. If this data would be confirmed, the role of these metabolites in the onset and progression of PC will be further supported.