Aim: To assess the predictive value of metabolomic analysis for the presence of prostate cancer (PCa) at first systematic biopsy.
Patients & methods: Ninety serum samples from patients with suspicion for PCa were included. Targeted and nontargeted metabolomic analysis was performed.
Results: Six metabolites were combined into a predictive score. A cutoff value of 0.528 for the metabolomic score showed a good accuracy for the prediction of PCa at biopsy (Area under the curve (AUC): 0.779; p < 0.001). These results were validated in a subgroup of patients, showing similar accuracy (p = 0.1). For patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) less than 10 ng/ml, the score showed a Se 80.95%, Sp 64.52% for the detection of PCa at biopsy.
Conclusion: Metabolomic analysis can predict the outcome of the first systematic biopsy.
Keywords: biopsy; metabolomics; prediction score; prostate cancer.