| Popis: |
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the first most frequently diagnosed malignancy in man in Europe and is the third major case of males’ cancer-related death. PCa screening and diagnosis are therefore societal and public health issues. Prostate specific antigen is the routine marker, but it is not specific for PCa. Several promising new biomarkers, including proteins, circulating tumor-derived DNA and RNA, and metabolites, are currently under clinical and analytical evaluation. The most promising ones are probably those present in urine, a valuable biological fluid that contains diverse biomarkers produced nearby by the prostatic tumour, and which can be easily collected with non-invasive sampling procedure. For each type of biomarker, there are already conventional assay techniques: namely ELISA and Western Blot for proteins and RT-PCR for DNA and RNA. Despite their undeniable metrological performances, these techniques remain expensive and require sophisticated equipment. Hence there is a need for ultra-sensitive, reliable and disposable tools for preclinical diagnosis of PCa. The most promising candidates are probably the electrochemical biosensors. In this review are thus presented the recent advances in the design of electrochemical biosensors for the quantification of urinary biomarkers of prostate cancer. |
