Volume 82, Issue 15 pp. 1469-1476
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

New strategy for the identification of prostate cancer: The combination of Proclarix and the prostate health index

Daniela Terracciano PhD

Daniela Terracciano PhD

Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Evelina La Civita PhD

Evelina La Civita PhD

Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Alcibiade Athanasiou MSc

Alcibiade Athanasiou MSc

Proteomedix AG, Research & Development, Zurich-Schlieren, Switzerland

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Antonietta Liotti PhD

Antonietta Liotti PhD

Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Mariano Fiorenza MSc

Mariano Fiorenza MSc

Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Michele Cennamo MD

Michele Cennamo MD

Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Felice Crocetto MD

Felice Crocetto MD

Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

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Pierre Tennstedt PhD

Pierre Tennstedt PhD

Martini-Klinik, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

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Ralph Schiess PhD

Ralph Schiess PhD

Proteomedix AG, Research & Development, Zurich-Schlieren, Switzerland

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Alexander Haese MD

Alexander Haese MD

Martini-Klinik, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

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Matteo Ferro MD

Matteo Ferro MD

Division of Urology, European Institute of Oncology (IEO), IRCCS, Milan, Italy

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Thomas Steuber MD

Corresponding Author

Thomas Steuber MD

Martini-Klinik, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Correspondence Thomas Steuber, MD, PhD, Martini-Klinik, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 16 August 2022
Citations: 5

Abstract

Objectives

Prostate health index (PHI) and, more recently, Proclarix have been proposed as serum biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we aimed to evaluate Proclarix and PHI for predicting clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa).

Patients and Methods

Proclarix and PHI were measured using samples of 344 men from two different centers. All patients underwent prostate biopsy, and among those, 188 men with PCa on biopsy had an additional radical prostatectomy (RP). All men had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) between 2 and 10 ng/ml. Evaluation of area under the curve (AUC) and performance at predefined cut-offs of Proclarix and PHI risk scores as well as the linear combination thereof was performed to predict csPCa. PSA density was used as an independent comparator.

Results

The cohort median age and PSA were 65 (interquartile range [IQR]: 60−71) and 5.6 (IQR: 4.3−7.2) ng/ml, respectively. CsPCa was diagnosed in 161 (47%) men based on the RP specimen. ROC analysis showed that Proclarix and PHI accurately predicted csPCa with no significant difference (AUC of 0.79 and 0.76, p = 0.378) but significantly better when compared to PSA density (AUC of 0.66, p < 0.001). When using specific cut-offs, Proclarix (cut-off 10) revealed higher specificity and positive predictive value than PHI (cut-off 27) at similar sensitivities. The combination of Proclarix and PHI provided a significant increase in the AUC (p ≤ 0.007) compared to the individual tests alone and the highest clinical benefit was achieved.

Conclusion

Results of this study show that both Proclarix and PHI accurately detect the presence of csPCa. The model combining Proclarix and PHI revealed the synergistic effect and improved the diagnostic performance of the individual tests.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A. A. and R. S. received/held stock options and salaries and founder shares (R. S.) of Proteomedix. T. S. is an advisor to Proteomedix. T. S., A. A., and R. S. are inventors of the following patent application (WO2018011212) as well as R. S. on patent application (WO2009138392).

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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