[Prognosis of prostate cancer with elevated prostatic acid phosphatase]

To evaluate the significance of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), we analyzed 1,029 prostate cancer patients who were treated at the Niigata Cancer Center. We classified clinically localized prostate cancer with elevated PAP as stage DO. When stage DO was not taken into acount, the 5-year cause-specific survival rate for stage A, B, C and D was 94.7, 97.9, 87.7 and 42.4%, respectively. Taking stage DO into account, the cause-specific survival curve for stage DO patients was similar to those for stage B,C patients. The 5-year cause-specific survival rate for stage DO was 92.2% considering above 3 ng/ml as elevated PAP. A significant correlation was found between PAP and cause-specific survival for all cases but no correlation was found for non-metastatic disease patients. The significance of PAP in the staging of prostate cancer is limited.