Prostate cancer screening research can benefit from network medicine: an emerging awareness

NPJ Syst Biol Appl. 2020 May 7;6(1):13. doi: 10.1038/s41540-020-0133-0.

Abstract

Up to date, screening for prostate cancer (PCa) remains one of the most appealing but also a very controversial topics in the urological community. PCa is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and it is universally acknowledged as a complex disease, with a multi-factorial etiology. The pathway of PCa diagnosis has changed dramatically in the last few years, with the multiparametric magnetic resonance (mpMRI) playing a starring role with the introduction of the "MRI Pathway". In this scenario the basic tenet of network medicine (NM) that sees the disease as perturbation of a network of interconnected molecules and pathways, seems to fit perfectly with the challenges that PCa early detection must face to advance towards a more reliable technique. Integration of tests on body fluids, tissue samples, grading/staging classification, physiological parameters, MR multiparametric imaging and molecular profiling technologies must be integrated in a broader vision of "disease" and its complexity with a focus on early signs. PCa screening research can greatly benefit from NM vision since it provides a sound interpretation of data and a common language, facilitating exchange of ideas between clinicians and data analysts for exploring new research pathways in a rational, highly reliable, and reproducible way.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Early Detection of Cancer / methods*
  • Humans
  • Image-Guided Biopsy / methods
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Grading / methods
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prostate / pathology
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen / metabolism
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen