Serum tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) in patients with prostatic cancer

Concurrent measurements of serum TPA and PAP concentrations by double antibody radioimmunoassays were done in 49 patients with prostatic cancer in different clinical stages. The reference group comprised patients suffering from BPH. Positive TPA was found in 32.7% of cancer patients, the lowest percentage in stage A (11.1%) and the highest in stage D (55.6%). The additional value as a diagnostic aid of the TPA test was revealed on the basis of examination of the selected group of patients with not increased PAP. Positive TPA was found in 16.7% of patients: none in stage A, 22.2% in stage B, and 33.3% in stage D. Prostatic cancer remains the most common malignancy of the genitourinary tract. The improvement in the results of treatment involves not only a modernization of treatment modalities but also the introduction of laboratory tests which give the most ample information on the stage of tumour development and improve possibilities to control tumour therapy. Besides the refinement of the determination procedures of specific prostatic markers, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), through radio- and enzyme-immunological methods, there is a search for additional markers which might be helpful in diagnosis and follow-up of treatment.