MARKER GENE BASED DIAGNOSIS, STAGING AND PROGNOSIS OF PROSTATE CANCER

摘要

This invention relates generally to a method of diagnosis and prognosis, in particular staging and/or typing and/or predicting outcome, for distinguishing between a benign prostate hyperplasia and a prostate cancer and between an hormone sensitive and an hormone refractory prostate cancer condition and specifically to identification of differentially methylated CpG islands in the regulatory regions surrounding the transcriptional start site of at least one marker gene of the present invention as a diagnostic and/or prognostic indicator of prostate cancer (PrCa) and for distinguishing androgen-refractory from androgen sensitive prostate cancer. The marker genes of the present invention comprise PITX2, and HOXD3. This invention relates more specifically to the detection of hypermethylation of PITX2, and HOXD3. This invention further relates to the prediction, prognosis or diagnosis of prostate cancer, including metastasis, more particularly in patients with prostate cancer. Marker genes have been identified of which promoter regions containing differentially methylated regions, compared to a reference sample, which are indicative for the prediction or prognosis of prostate cancer.