Several proteins have been identified as specific markers of prostate cancer, and they may be useful as diagnostic indicators. PSA, prostate specific antigen, is the classical indicator for transformed prostate tissue; however, in addition to being up-regulated in prostate cancer, PSA is also up-regulated in non-malignant conditions, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia prostate. Galectin-8, also known as prostate-specific membrane antigen (PCTA-1), is an additional prostate-specific antigen that is overexpressed only in malignant tumors and therefore is a more specific identifier of malignancies. It is a member of the galectin gene family which mediates bothe cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in a manner similar to the selectin subgroup of C-type lectins.
