Prostate cancer is the second most common male malignancy, with a highly variable clinical presentation and outcome. Therefore, diagnosis, prognostication, and management remain a challenge, as available clinical, imaging, and pathological parameters provide limited risk assessment. Thus, many biomarkers are under study to fill this critical gap, some of them based on epigenetic aberrations that might be detected in liquid biopsies. Herein, we provide a critical review of published data on the usefulness of DNA methylation and circulating tumor cells in diagnosis and treatment decisions in cases of prostate cancer, underlining key aspects and discussing the importance of these advances to the improvement of the management of prostate cancer patients. Using minimally invasive blood tests, the detection of highly specific biomarkers might be crucial for making therapeutic decisions, determining response to specific treatments, and allowing early diagnosis.
Keywords: DNA methylation; circulating tumor cells; prostate cancer.