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