A New Approach To Prostate Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer and the sixth most common cause of death in men worldwide. The current prostate cancer screening paradigm consists of monitoring levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood, together with the digital rectal exam, but the PSA level may also be elevated in men without cancer, leading to unnecessary biopsies and the associated anxiety this causes men and their families. Clearly new biomarkers are needed for prostate cancer screening that can decrease the need for unnecessary biopsies and perhaps aid in disease prognosis when cancer is present. The research described here is focused on discovering such biomarkers and represents an exciting new collaboration between a molecular pathologist, Dr. David Engman, and an expert nanoscientist specializing in urologic diseases, Dr. Shad Thaxton. An energetic research team has been assembled, comprised of Dr. Tim Taxter, a pathology research-resident who aspires to an academic career combining clinical and translational research and molecular pathology, Aabha Sharma, a graduate student who is already an expert in the cutting edge technology necessary for this work, and Nick Angeloni, a postdoctoral fellow expert in exosome analysis. This project fulfills the translational research mission of the Woman’s Board and has great potential to advance the health of men worldwide—well beyond the walls of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.