A global research team has discovered a breakthrough set of urine biomarkers for prostate cancer that outperform the traditional PSA test.
Using digital tumor models and AI, they identified proteins that can detect cancer presence and severity with striking precision. The non-invasive nature of urine testing offers a painless, at-home possibility for future diagnostics. Large-scale clinical trials are next, promising earlier detection and fewer unnecessary biopsies for men worldwide.
Rising Global Challenge: Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death among men worldwide. However, diagnosing it early remains challenging due to the lack of precise biomarkers that can reliably detect the presence of an early tumor.
In a new study published today (April 28) in the journal Cancer Research, researchers from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), Imperial College London (UK), and Xiyuan Hospital at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (Beijing, China) have identified a set of highly accurate biomarkers for prostate cancer.
Building Digital Models of Tumors
The team analyzed the mRNA activity of every human gene across thousands of individual cells taken from prostate tumors. By mapping the location and severity of cancer within each cell, they were able to build detailed digital models of prostate cancer.
Using artificial intelligence, the researchers then searched these models to identify proteins that could serve as biomarkers. They validated their findings by analyzing blood, prostate tissue, and urine samples from nearly 2,000 patients.
Urine Biomarkers Outperform PSA
The researchers identified a set of biomarkers in urine that were able to indicate the presence and severity of prostate cancer with a high degree of precision. According to their calculations, they surpass PSA, which is the blood biomarker in current clinical use.
“There are many advantages to measuring biomarkers in urine,” explains principal investigator Mikael Benson, senior researcher at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet. “It’s non-invasive and painless and can potentially be done at home. The sample can then be analyzed using routine methods in clinical labs.”
Next Steps: Clinical Trials
Large-scale clinical trials are being planned for the next phase of the research. One such is being discussed with Professor Rakesh Heer of Imperial College London, co-author of the study and head of TRANSFORM, the UK’s national prostate cancer study, which offers a platform for expediting the testing of promising biomarkers.
“New, more precise biomarkers than PSA can lead to earlier diagnosis and better prognoses for men with prostate cancer,” says Dr. Benson. “Moreover, it can reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies in healthy men.”
Reference: “Combining Spatial Transcriptomics, Pseudotime, and Machine Learning Enables Discovery of Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer” by Martin Smelik, Daniel Diaz-Roncero Gonzalez, Xiaojing An, Rakesh Heer, Lars Henningsohn, Xinxiu Li, Hui Wang, Yelin Zhao and Mikael Benson, 28 April 2025, Cancer Research.
DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-0269
The study was largely financed by the Swedish Cancer Society, Radiumhemmet and the Swedish Research Council. Mikael Benson is the scientific founder of Mavatar, Inc. There are no other reported conflicts of interest.
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