Derezinski P, et al. - An assessment was performed of the free amino acid profiles of serum and urine as diagnostic biomarkers in prostate cancer patients. Strong evidence was yielded that ethanolamine, arginine and branched-chain amino acids metabolic pathways could serve as a beneficial source of markers for prostate cancer. The altered concentrations of the above-mentioned metabolites were indicative of their role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Hence, they ought to be examined in prospective studies.

• This research illustrated an assessment of a wide panel of amino acids in two different physiological fluids obtained from the same groups of prostate cancer patients (n = 49) and healthy men (n = 40).
• It also gauged the potential of free amino acids, both proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic, as prostate cancer biomarkers and their utility in the classification of study candidates.
• Several metabolites, requiring special focus in additional metabolomic investigations on searching for prostate cancer markers, were indicated.
• Free amino acid profiles enabled the classification of samples to one of the studied groups with high sensitivity and specificity.