Assessing the diagnostic potential of lateral flow-based detection of CA19-9 and CEA for prostate cancer

Abstract

For men, prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer accounting for more than 1.5 million new cases annually. The main diagnostic method for prostate cancer detection is currently the measurement of prostate specific antigen (PSA) from serum, but these assays suffer from high false positive rates leading to unnecessary procedures. In this study the aim is to assess biomarkers carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) measured from urine for their ability to detect and differentiate prostate cancer. For the assessment, a simple lateral flow assay will be employed that will utilize antibody conjugated upconverting nanoparticles as the detection method for high sensitivity. First the best capture tracer antibody combination will be decided by running simulated samples, and after, the best combination will be evaluated by testing healthy, benign, and prostate cancer patient samples. These results will then be analyzed individually and in multiparametric form with PSA and prostate size variables. In our experiments no statistically significant correlations between urinary CA19-9 and prostate cancer were observed, and the marker did not offer any improvements as a variable for the multiparametric tests. CEA, however, demonstrated statistically significant differences between the groups providing area under the curve (AUC) value up to 0.9 individually, and elevating the multiparametric AUC up to 1. This demonstrates real potential for CEA antigen for prostate cancer diagnostics.