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Clinical behaviour of prostatic specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase: a comparative study
J Morote Robles1, A Ruibal Morell, J A De Torres Mateos
1Services of Urology, C.S. Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
The International Journal of Biological Markers
|April 1, 1989
Summary
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) serum levels were measured. PSA demonstrated higher sensitivity and clinical efficacy for prostate cancer detection compared to PAP.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Prostate cancer diagnosis relies on biomarkers like prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP).
- Accurate assessment of these markers is crucial for effective patient management and treatment strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of serum PSA and PAP levels in a large patient cohort.
- To compare the sensitivity, specificity, and clinical utility of PSA and PAP in detecting prostate cancer and assessing its characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Radioimmunoassay (RIA) using I125 was employed to measure serum PSA and PAP levels in 1383 patients.
- Established upper normal limits for PSA (10 ng/ml) and PAP (2.5 ng/ml) were used for analysis.
Main Results:
- PSA showed a sensitivity of 87.2% and PAP 64.1% for prostate cancer detection.
- PSA correlated better with tumor spread and histological grading than PAP.
- False positive rates varied across different benign prostatic conditions, with complicated benign prostatic hypertrophy showing higher rates.
Conclusions:
- PSA is a more sensitive and clinically effective biomarker for prostate cancer than PAP.
- Assaying both markers simultaneously did not improve clinical efficacy beyond using PSA alone.
- PSA levels are valuable for assessing tumor spread and histological grade in prostate cancer patients.