title: Evaluation of Combined Quantification of PCA3 and AMACR Gene Expression for Molecular Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Moroccan Patients by RT-qPCR
abstract: Prostate cancer (PCa) remains one of the most widespread and perplexing of all human malignancies. Assessment
  of gene expression is thought to have an important impact on cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic decisions. In
  this context, we explored combined expression of PCa related target genes AMACR and PCA3 in 126 formalin fixed
  paraffin embedded prostate tissues (FFPE) from Moroccan patients, using quantitative real time reverse transcription-PCR
  (RT-qPCR). This quantification required data normalization accomplished using stably expressed reference genes
  (RGs). A panel of twelve RG was assessed, data being analyzed using GenEx V6 based on geNorm, NormFinder and
  statistical methods. Accordingly, the hnRNP A1 gene was identified and selected as the most stably expressed RG for
  reliable and accurate gene expression quantification in prostate tissues. The ratios of both PCA3 and AMACR gene
  expression relative to that of the hnRNP A1 gene were calculated and the performance of each target gene for PCa
  diagnosis was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristics. PCA3 and AMACR mRNA quantification based on
  RT-qPCR may prove useful in PCa diagnosis. Of particular interesting, combining PCA3 and AMACR quantification
  improved PCa prediction by increasing sensitivity with retention of good specificity.
authors.affiliation: MASCIR: Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research, Rabat, Morocco. Email: a.moumen@mascir.com
authors.forename: Imane
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abdellaoui Maane
authors.forename: Hicham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El Hadi
authors.forename: Zineb
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qmichou
authors.forename: Abderrahmane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Bouzidi
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bakri
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sefrioui
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dakka
authors.forename: Abdeladim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moumen
keywords: Prostate cancer; reference genes; first biopsies; molecular diagnostics; PCA3 and AMACR ratio; threshold