A sncRNA profile of semen extracellular vesicles as non-invasive biomarker to discriminate benign from malignant prostate disease in the PSA grey zone

ABSTRACT: Prostate‑specific antigen (PSA) testing plays an important role in the diagnostic work‑up of prostate cancer; although the low cancer specificity is a well‑recognized limitation. This fact contributes to potential overdiagnosis and overtreatment on one hand, and delayed or missed diagnoses on the other. Consequently, there is a growing need for more reliable, non-invasive diagnostic tools capable of improving specificity while maintaining sensitivity, thereby enabling better risk stratification, personalized patient management, and reduction of unnecessary invasive procedures. In this study, we characterized the small RNA profile—including miRNAs and tsRNAs—in seminal small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) using high‑throughput sequencing to improve biomarker discovery for distinguishing benign from malignant prostate conditions, particularly in patients with moderately elevated PSA levels. Our analysis confirms minimal differences in sncRNA content of seminal sEVs between benign and malignant prostate disease, consistent with prior RT‑qPCR array data. This result suggests that shared underlying molecular mechanisms are likely to occur especially in this group of patients with moderate PSA levels. Given the complexity of the underlying pathophysiological process and the heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes, multivariate approaches (including isomiRs or tRFs) are proposed as prostate cancer biomarkers, offering improved accuracy and enhancing the negative predictive value of PSA used in clinical settings.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE330457 | GEO | 2026/08/05

REPOSITORIES: GEO