Emerging biomarkers in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment: Insights into genetic, RNA and metabolic markers (Review)

Prostate cancer remains one of the most prevalent malignancies and a major cause of cancer‑related mortality among men worldwide. Despite widespread use of prostate‑specific antigen testing, current diagnostic approaches suffer from low specificity and limited ability to distinguish between indolent and aggressive disease, resulting in overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Advances in molecular biology, genomics and metabolomics have led to the identification of novel biomarkers that have potential for improving the precision of prostate cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of emerging prostate cancer biomarkers, including genetic (such as <i>BRCA1/2</i>, <i>HOXB13</i> and <i>PTEN</i>), RNA‑based (such as PCA3 and miRNAs), metabolic (such as citric acid and polyamines) and methylation markers (such as <i>GSTP1</i>, <i>APC</i> and <i>RASSF1A</i>). These biomarkers not only enhance diagnostic accuracy but also facilitate risk stratification, prediction of therapeutic response and real‑time disease monitoring through liquid biopsy technologies. Moreover, integrating multi‑omics data with artificial intelligence and machine learning may further improve early detection and personalized treatment strategies. Overall, the development and clinical implementation of these biomarkers represent a transformative step toward precision medicine in prostate cancer, enabling earlier diagnosis, optimized therapy selection and improved patient outcomes.