11^th Global Infections Conference

Biography

Biography: Anil Batta

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in Indian men. The therapeutic success rate for prostate cancer can be tremendously improved if the disease is diagnosed early. Prostate cancer generally does not present any symptoms until it becomes locally advanced or metastatic disease. Therefore, in the past, efforts at screening and early detection have used all available tools for diagnosis in asymptomatic patients before the presentation of symptoms. A successful therapy for this disease depends heavily on the clinical indicators (biomarkers) for early detection of the presence and progression of the disease, as well as the prediction after the clinical intervention. However, the current clinical biomarkers for prostate cancer are not ideal as there remains a lack of reliable biomarkers that can specifically distinguish between those patients who should be treated adequately to stop the aggressive form of the disease and those who should avoid overtreatment of the indolent form. A biomarker is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biologic processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic  intervention. A biomarker reveals further information to presently existing clinical and pathological analysis. It facilitates screening and detecting the cancer, monitoring the progression of the disease, and predicting the prognosis and survival after clinical intervention. A biomarker can also be used to evaluate the process of drug development, and, optimally, to improve the efficacy and safety of cancer treatment by enabling physicians to tailor treatment for individual patients. The form of the prostate cancer biomarkers can vary from metabolites and chemical products present in body fluid to genes and proteins in the prostate tissues. Current advances in molecular techniques have provided new tools facilitating the discovery of new biomarkers for prostate cancer. These emerging biomarkers will be beneficial and critical in developing new and clinically reliable indicators that will have a high specificity for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. The purpose of this review is to examine the current status of prostate cancer biomarkers, with special emphasis on emerging markers, by evaluating their diagnostic and prognostic potentials. Along with the discovery of prostate cancer biomarkers, the criteria used when selecting potential biomarkers for further development towards clinical use is very important.. In addition, how to appraise and validate candidate markers for prostate cancer and some relevant issues involved in these processes’ debatable. The new concept of the biomarkers, existing challenges, and perspectives of biomarker development are worth exploring.