The document discusses new tools being developed for diagnosing prostate cancer. Researchers at the University of Helsinki and VTT Technical Research Centre are collaborating on a project to identify new markers and diagnostic tools to detect prostate cancer. They have found promising new markers and developed a multiplex assay platform to measure multiple biomarkers from a single sample to improve diagnosis. The new tools could help identify life-threatening cancers and reduce over-diagnosis of clinically irrelevant tumors.

1. New tools for the diagnostics of www.salwe.fi
prostate cancer
Part of SalWe’s Intelligent Monitoring Programme is the development of new markers
and diagnostic tools that will identify prostate cancer. Research groups at the University of Helsinki and
VTT Technical Research Centre are collaborating in the project.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer Ambiguous PSA test results
among men and afflicts one in seven. In the United Prostate specific antigen is unique to the prostate
States alone, a quarter of a million new prostate gland and is not secreted by other tissues. However,
cancer cases are diagnosed annually. Today, early because it originates from healthy as well as from
diagnosis is performed by testing for prostate specific cancerous prostate, diagnosing the disease by testing
antigen (PSA) in the blood. The 100 million PSA tests for PSA only is difficult.
performed each year have a business value of about
a billion dollars.
SalWe - Strategic Center for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being

2. “Our previous studies
revealed promising
markers for prostate cancer.”
Kristina Hotakainen, University of Helsinki
Serum PSA can be elevated by prostate cancer but also “To make it easier for laboratories to handle the mul-
by benign tumours and enlarged prostate. Moreover, tiple analytes, we’ve developed a new Array-in-Wells
PSA has poor predictive value during follow-up when platform, where all the relevant biomarkers can be
tumours become resistant to hormone treatment. measured at the same time from the same sample.
New biomarkers and diagnostic tools are needed to We’ve also shown that this multiplex assay has the
detect life-threatening types of cancer and minimise necessary precision and sensitivity,” says Harri Siitari,
the over-diagnosis of prostate tumours that are clini- Senior Principal Scientist at VTT.
cally irrelevant.
“Initial studies indicate that the serum markers we
New promising markers have tested can predict the advance of prostate can-
The prostate marker research is being carried out by cer. The multiplex assay platform that we have devel-
research groups at the University of Helsinki and VTT oped with the new markers will give added value for
Technical Research Centre. the diagnostics of prostate cancer,” Harri Siitari adds.
“In our previous studies we found promising markers The platform, the antibodies used and the measuring
for prostate cancer. We have also demonstrated that device are ready for commercial product development.
it is possible to detect mRNA markers in urinary cells
and in paraffin-embedded tissue blocks,” says Doc-
tor of Medicine Kristina Hotakainen, Docent of the
University of Helsinki, who is heading the research at
More information
the University.
Kristina Hotakainen
doctor of medicine, docent
“Using immunofluorometric analysis, we have mea- University of Helsinki
sured the new markers in serum samples from hun- kristina.hotakainen@helsinki.fi
+358 50 428 6392
dreds of prostate cancer patients. The results of 1,200
samples collected in 1995-2005 show that the new
markers can indicate the likelihood of the patient’s Harri Siitari
senior principal scientist
survival over the longer or shorter term,” she adds.
VTT
harri.siitari@vtt.fi
+358 20 722 2832
SalWe - Strategic Center for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being