Research and Reports in Urology (Feb 2022)
Plasma Chemokine C-C Motif Ligand 2 as a Potential Biomarker for Prostate Cancer
Abstract
Martin Lund,1 Torben B Pedersen,1 Søren Feddersen,2,3 Louise D Østergaard,1,3 Charlotte A Poulsen,1 Christian Enggaard,2 Mads HA Poulsen,1,3 Lars Lund1,3 1Department of Urology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; 2Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; 3Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DenmarkCorrespondence: Lars Lund, Department of Urology, Odense University Hospital, Sdr. Boulevard 29, Odense, 5000, Denmark, Tel +45 5140 8982, Fax +45 6541 1726, Email [email protected]: Serum levels of the polypeptide chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2) have previously shown potential as a prostate cancer diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. Plasma CCL2 levels may be superior to serum levels as a biomarker because of their potentially lower signal-to-noise ratio.Materials and Methods: Before initiating a large comparative study of plasma and serum CCL2 levels, we performed a prospective, diagnostic pilot study Of 133 individuals from a clinically relevant population. CCL2 plasma levels were measured using a validated assay kit. Plasma was obtained independently of digital rectal examination.Results: In this pilot study, we found no relationship between CCL2 plasma values and risk of proven prostate cancer, whereas previous studies found a strong diagnostic relationship between CCL2 serum values and prostate cancer.Conclusion: Our contribution to the existing literature strengthens the idea that early in the pathological process, CCL2 mainly circulates in large, membrane-enclosed compartments, whereas plasma CCL2 levels increase markedly during disease progression. We conclude that whereas plasma CCL2 levels are not useful as a diagnostic measure, a ratio of CCL2 plasma to serum levels may prove useful as a marker of disease progression, which warrants further study.Keywords: diagnostics, liquid biopsy, CCL2, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, MCP1