Biomarkers in prostate cancer - Current clinical utility and future perspectives

Current tendencies in the treatment course of prostate cancer patients increase the need for reliable biomarkers that help in decision-making in a challenging clinical setting. Within the last decade, several novel biomarkers have been introduced. In the following comprehensive review article, we focus on diagnostic (PHI (R), 4K score, SelectMDx (R), ConfirmMDx (R), PCA3, MiPS, ExoDX (R) mpMRI) and prognostic (OncotypeDX GPS (R) Prolaris (R), ProMark (R), DNA-ploidy, Decipher (R)) biomarkers that are in widespread clinical use and are supported by evidence. Hereby, we focus on multiple clinical situations in which innovative biomarkers may guide decision-making in prostate cancer therapy. In addition, we describe novel liquid biopsy approaches (circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA) that have been described as predictive biomarkers in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and might support an individual patient-centred oncological approach in the nearer future.