Despite advances in our understanding of cancer and the development of new therapeutics, cancer remains the number two killer in the US with mortality rates of many cancers remaining relatively unchanged for decades. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death among males of Western countries. There is a critical unmet need to identify reliable novel biomarkers to assist in early detection of prostate cancer, and, most critically, to determine risk of prostate cancer recurrence following initial lherapy such as prostatectomy. Currently Ihe major treatment modality for newly diagnosed prostate cancer remains radical prostatectomy. Radical prostatectomy provides an excellent outcome for organ-confined disease. However, 15%-20% or more of all surgical patients ultimately experience recurrence indicating the presence of residual disease, local invasion andlor metastatic deposits at the time of surgery .We are developing a new test using novel methods that identify cell-specific biomarkers that can be applied at the time of diagnosis to determine whether the tumor has the potentia! to recur after surgery. The development of a clinical test capable of distinguishing indolent and aggressive forms of the disease at the time of diagnosis wi ll provide crucial guidance. First, this information will provide guidance as to who needs treatment thereby providing the option of avoiding surgery and the associated morbidity for those patients with a high risk of recurrence. Second, this information will also provide guidance as to who may profit from postsurgery or immediate adjuvant therapy.
