Detection of COX-2 in liquid biopsy of patients with prostate cancer

AimsTo determine the profile ofCOX-2gene expression in patients with prostate cancer attended at the ABC University Health Center outpatient clinic and correlate the results with patients’ anatomopathological examinations. Prostate cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide and the second in Brazil.COX-2expression is associated with an unfavourable prognosis.Methods15.0 mL of peripheral blood were collected from 24 patients and 25 healthy men. RNA extraction was performed using the QIAamp RNA Blood Mini Kit. Complementary DNA synthesis was performed using SuperScript II RNAse Reverse Transcriptase. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed with specificCOX-2oligonucleotides and the endogenousGAPDHgene.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 69 years old. The Gleason scoring system showed 37.5% of patients with Gleason 6 (slow growth, low risk), 45.8% with Gleason 7 (intermediate risk) and 16.7% with Gleason 8 or 9 (risk of high-grade cancer). The medianCOX-2expression in the study group was 0.97, while in the control group it was 0.11 (pConclusionsPatients with prostate cancer showed higherCOX-2expression at diagnosis compared with the control group. SinceCOX-2detection associated with prostate-specific antigen dosage shows promise as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in patients with prostate cancer, further research is required to confirm these findings.