Biomarker detects prostate cancer spread

DALLAS, March 1 (UPI) -- A biomarker with close to 98 percent accuracy helps predict if a patient's prostate cancer may spread into his lymph nodes, U.S. researchers say.

The researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas studied 425 patients undergoing surgical removal of both prostate and pelvic lymph nodes, and found for each 1 ng/mL increase of plasma endoglin, the risk for cancer spread into the lymph nodes increased by 17 percent.

The study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, found adding blood levels of endoglin to the other prediction methods increased accuracy from 89.4 percent to 97.8 percent.

"Despite strides in the management of prostate cancer, approximately 25 percent to 30 percent fail primary curative treatment such as radical prostatectomy, or prostate removal -- and radiotherapy, or radiation therapy," study author Dr. Shahrokh Shariat said in a statement. "This is often due to spread of cancer cells beyond the original tumor site. Use of plasma endoglin could help identify patients at risk for lymph nodes metastasis who should undergo pelvic lymphadenectom -- surgical removal of one or more groups of lymph nodes."

It may also spare patients at low risk of lymph node metastasis the potential morbidity of an unnecessary lymphadenectomy, Shariat says.

However, more studies are needed before endoglin can be used clinically, the researchers said.