Biomarker measures severity of prostate disease
NEW YORK Feb 9 (Reuters) Men with severe symptoms of prostate enlargement, so-called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, have low blood levels of a protein dubbed JM-27, according to a new report.
''At the molecular level, the severe form of the disease is distinct from the form of the disease that results in mild symptoms,'' Dr Robert H Getzenberg told Reuters Health. ''JM-27 appears to be the first (blood) marker that can differentiate these forms of the disease.'' JM-27 is an androgen-regulated protein found in prostate tissue.
Getzenberg, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and his associates measured JM-27 levels in blood samples from 29 men with BPH but no symptoms, 39 men with symptomatic BPH, and 17 men with confirmed prostate cancer.
Lower JM-27 levels were associated with higher symptom scores, and vice versa, regardless of whether the men had prostate cancer, the researchers report in the Journal of Urology.
This
biomarker
''may
allow
us
to
identify
men
with
the
severe
form
(of
BPH)
early
before
damage
to
the
bladder
can
occur,''
Getzenberg
said.
''In
addition,
this
may
provide
a
molecular
tool
to
determine
if
a
patient
is
responding
to
a
particular
therapy.''
However,
Dr
Kevin
T
McVary
from
Northwestern
University
in
Chicago,
cautions
in
a
related
editorial,
''The
reader
is
advised
to
remember
that
this
is
still
preliminary
work
and,
thus,
a
heavy
dose
of
skepticism
is
warranted.''
REUTERS
AKJ
PM0845