The Integral Role and Clinical Significance of Metabolic Profiling in Prostate Cancer: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy among males worldwide. In recent years, there has been a need to find alternative methods for the early diagnosis of PC. Evidence indicates that metabolic dysfunction is a characteristic feature of PC carcinogenesis, with various metabolites acting as biomarkers of tumor growth. Metabolomics is a new science that has emerged at the intersection of molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics. The complete set of substrates and metabolic products is a metabolic profile, or metabolome. The PC metabolome comprises substances formed as a result of metabolic changes in response to the occurrence of a malignant process in the prostate gland. We have obtained unique data on metabolic changes that allow us to rethink the carcinogenesis of PC. Research on the metabolome opens up new opportunities for the early diagnosis and treatment of PC, with implications for its prognosis.