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Published online 11 February 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.94
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Prostate cancer marker found in urine
A simple urine test for sarcosine could be used to detect cancer.
The concentration of a small molecule found in urine could reveal how advanced a patient's prostate cancer is. The discovery could lead to simple, non-invasive tests for men who have the disease and might help avoid the need for biopsies.
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I think we need a more nuanced approach to prostate cancer. For decades, we have starved it, cut it out, radiated it and poisoned it, but prostate cancer still comes back. We need to negotiate with it. If we can sign an agreement with prostate cancer that it must remain contained within the prostate capsule, we can promise not to treat it
These new small peptides found with LP-MS are truely sensational. Perhaps it is possible to find some answers along these lines and I am eager to know more about the raw-signals found for 1. the D-Amino-form of Sarcosine, its pm-(%o)-frequency of iso-meric appearance, 2. the frequency of 13C-signals appearing at variant molecular positions (isotopomeres) as indicator for the ratio-deviation at which that metabolite appears in the diseased of various stages. 3. the ratio of 15N appearing on Sarcosine 4. the ratio at which both 15N and 13C appear together 5. the possibly additional 'environmentally caused' tagging with other heavy organic isotopes (2D and 3T or 3H) and the ratios of that appearance. 6. the frequency of variant positions of 2D (+)3T (+)15N (+)13C (+)14C (+)17O (+)18O as most of the variant Isotopomeres will require another Iso-Enzyme for further Metabolism. I am inclined to dare predicting that any increased ratio of 13C & 15N & 2D & 18O will be associated with the body's (desperate) signals to increase own (hoped-for) preferred 'proper'-'normal' (lightweight) Sarcosine as needed in the further metabolism including the CoA-Enzyme for detoxifying excretory reactions. And the CoA-Enzyme belongs to the discriminating enzymes deselecting against 13C-Acetic 'brick'. So these answers could be sensational building blocks in the puzzle of attempts to explain some Problems with Modern Diseases of Unknown Origin.
The article seems to suggest that sarcosine is an enabler for metasticising PC cells; if this is true, sarcosine-suppressing drugs might make the difference between "watchful waiting" and "scorched earth" therapies. And yet this was mentioned only in passing, I presume because of reluctance to offer premature hope to PC victims who might wish to avoid the latter. But I have a question: does sarcosine have other, more beneficial functions in the metabolism that we dare not suppress?
This is an interesting article.
This thought provoking study makes it interesting to test if cancers associated with at least GNMT enriched gluconeogenic tissues such as from lung, pancreas and liver would also manifest increases in detectable sarcosine levels. It is known that certain diabetic sheep accumulate as much as 65 fold increase in GNMT activity (diabetic rats also accumulate increased levels of GNMT). therefore, I was wondering if the metastatic disease patients employed in the current investigation have also suffered from diabetes. Importantly, it becomes inquisitive to investigate if the diabetic patients that have not developed PC, would or NOT manifest elevated levels of sarcosine in their body fluids or at least in some of the cells/locations of prostate such as subjected to hypoxic conditions. If indeed not, such studies further corroborates the present novel contention of ?sarcosine-metabolic-en route to metastasis of at least PC'.
This thought provoking study makes it interesting to test if cancers associated with at least GNMT enriched gluconeogenic tissues such as from lung, pancreas and liver would also manifest increases in detectable sarcosine levels. It is known that certain diabetic sheep accumulate as much as 65 fold increase in GNMT activity (diabetic rats also accumulate increased levels of GNMT). Therefore, I was wondering if the metastatic disease patients employed in the current investigation have also suffered from diabetes. Importantly, it becomes inquisitive to investigate if the diabetic patients that have not developed prostate cancer would or NOT manifest elevated levels of sarcosine in their body fluids or at least in some of the cells/locations of prostate such as subjected to hypoxic conditions. If not, indeed such studies further corroborates the present novel contention of 'sarcosine-metabolic-en route to metastasis' of at least primary prostate cancer.