Prospective Evaluation of Chondroitin Sulfate, Heparan Sulfate and Hyaluronic Acid in Prostate Cancer

The present study evaluates chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) in the urine and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the plasma of patients with prostate cancer before and after treatment compared to a control group.

Plasma samples were used for HA dosage and urine for quantification of CS and HS from forty-four cancer patients and fourteen controls. Clinical, laboratory and radiological information were correlated with glycosaminoglycan quantification by statistical analysis.

Serum HA was significantly increased in cancer patients (39.68 ± 30.00 ng/ mL) compared to control group (15.04 ± 7.11 ng/mL; p=0.004) and was further increased in high-risk prostate cancer patients when compared to lower risk patients (p = 0.0214). Also, surgically treated individuals had a significant decrease in seric levels of heparan sulfate after surgical treatment, 31.05 ± 21.01 μg/mL (before surgery) and 23.14 ± 11.1 μg/mL (after surgery; p=0.029). There was no difference in the urinary CS and HS between prostate cancer patients and control group. Urinary CS in cancer patients was 27.32 ± 25.99 μg/mg creatinine while in the men unaffected by cancer it was 31.37 ± 28.37 μg/mg creatinine (p=0.4768). Urinary HS was 39.58 ± 32.81 μg/ mg creatinine and 35.29 ± 28.11 μg/mg creatinine, respectively, in cancer patients and control group (p=0.6252).

Serum HA may be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. However, urinary CS and HS did not altered in the present evaluation. Further studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.