How it works

Cancer or not

A simple blood test tells the truth

All cells in the body secrete exosomes. In women for example from the mammary glands and in men from the prostate. Exosomes from prostate cancer tissue leak into the blood. Through a simple blood test, specific antibodies can be used to detect or rule out cancer.

The cell

Exosomes – the body's messengers

All cells in the body secrete exosomes. Exosomes from the prostate are called prostasomes. Exosomes act as messengers between the body’s cells. The exosome always carries traces of its parent cell. If a person has prostate cancer, there are traces of it in the prostasomes.

How exosomes arise

In the membrane that surrounds all cells, there are certain areas called lipid rafts. At these rafts, the membrane bulges into the cell (invagination) and detaches to form a vesicle. The process is repeated several times in the new vesicle, whereby a vesicle containing many vesicles (endosomes), forms a multivesicular body (MVB). The quirk of double invagination is that the exosomes will have the same side out as the original cell membrane.

DNA, RNA and proteins in the cell are transported to the exosomes via special sorting mechanisms. The MVB vesicle then fuses with the cell wall, releasing the contents i.e exosomes outside the cell. That’s when the vesicle becomes an exosome. In a healthy person, the prostasomes exit the glandular duct and carry messages to the recipient cell via the seminal fluid.

Exosomes tell us about the cancer's progression

The amount of exosomes in the blood depends on how far the tumor has progressed. When the cancer is advanced , the cancerous cells become invasive and exosomes go into the blood in very large quantities.

Exosomes entering the blood stream

Prostate cancer can be ruled out

A healthy person has no prostasomes in the blood

ProsMedic has developed specific antibodies that bind to certain proteins found on the surface of the prostasome. The antibodies do not bind to any other proteins. If the antibodies bind to prostasomes in the blood sample, cancer can therefore be diagnosed. In-depth studies can then further characterize the cancer and provide guidance for treatment.

A healthy patient has no prostasomes in the blood. Prostate cancer can be ruled out with a simple blood test.

Diagnostic methods – Alternatives

ProsMedic’s method consists of one simple blood test and the result is delivered within hours. Biological grading provides a decision-making basis for further treatment. Unlike other methods, the result is final.

Prostate cancer

	False positive	Invasive	Diagnose	Final diagnoses	Biological grading
PSA	Yes	No	Primary	No	No
Stockholm 3*	Yes	No	Primary	No	Yes, by algoritm
MR	Yes	No	Primary	No	No
Ultra sound	Yes	No	Primary	No	No
Biopsy	Yes	No	Primary	No	No
ProsMedic	Significantly better than existing methods	No	Primary/Final	Yes	Yes