Detecting prostate cancer

Abstract

Provided herein is technology for prostate cancer screening and particularly, but not exclusively, to methods, compositions, and related uses for detecting the presence of prostate cancer.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for characterizing a biological sample comprising:
 (a) measuring a methylation level of a CpG site for two or more genes selected from SERPINB9_3389, FLOT1_1665, HCG4P6_4618, CHST11_2206, MAX.chr12.485, GRASP_0932, GAS6_6425, MAX.chr3.193, MAX.chr2.971_3164, MAX.chr3.727_8028, HES5_0840, TPM4_8037, SLCO3A1_6187, ITPRIPL1_1244, AKR1B1_3644, RASGRF2_6325, ZNF655_6075, PAMR1_7364, ST6GALNAC2_1113, CCNJL_9070, KCNB2_9128, IGFBP7_6412, and WNT3A_5487 in a biological sample of a human individual through
 treating genomic DNA in the biological sample with bisulfite; 
 amplifying the bisulfite-treated genomic DNA using the following set of primers for the selected two or more genes; and 
 determining the methylation level of the CpG site by methylation-specific PCR, quantitative methylation-specific PCR, methylation-sensitive DNA restriction enzyme analysis, quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing, or bisulfite genomic sequencing PCR; 
   (b) comparing the methylation level to a methylation level of a corresponding set of genes in control samples without prostate cancer; and   (c) determining that the individual has prostate cancer when the methylation level measured in the two or more genes is higher than the methylation level measured in the respective control samples.