Development and application of prostate cancer gene 3 in prostate cancer

The incidence of prostate cancer (PCa) is rising steadily among males in many countries.Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely applied in clinical diagnosis and screening of PCa. However, the grey area of PSA levels has a low specificity in PCa screening and may lead to a high rate of negative biopsy and overtreatment. The PCA3 gene is strongly and specifically overexpressed in PCa cells and malignant prostate tissue. The gene has been identified as a molecular biomarker for PCa detecting.The diagnostic significance of PCA3, however, is awaiting further researches. In this review, the progress of molecular biological characteristics of PCA3, and its applications in diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer were discussed.(Chin J Lab Med, 2016, 39: 568-570) Key words: Prostatic neoplasms; Antigens, neoplasm; Tumor markers, biological