The usefulness of serum acid phosphatase in monitoring patients with advanced prostate carcinoma.
The usefulness of serum acid phosphatase (SAP) in monitoring patients with advanced prostate carcinoma has been questioned. We reviewed a series of 59 patients with stage D2 prostate carcinoma. All patients had extended follow-up through at least one clinical relapse, or death. Responses to a variety of therapies were characterized as absent, subjective, or objective. All patients with an elevated pre-treatment SAP that fell to normal following therapy had prolonged survivals and improved prognoses. Conversely, all patients with an elevated SAP which did not normalize following therapy had poorer survivals. Among 36 objective responses to therapy, the SAP was elevated prior to or simultaneous with disease progression in 33 (93% sensitivity). In each ease where the pretreatment SAP normalized following therapy, any subsequent elevation in SAP above normal was always associated with clinical evidence of disease progression (100% specificity). Changes in SAP following therapy correlate well with both disease regression and disease progression in patients with advanced prostatic carcinoma.
Long
J P
JP
Urologic Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
Prout
G R
GR
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000556:secondary; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004961:Estramustine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005485:Flutamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009919:Orchiectomy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004967:Estrogens; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D004961:Estramustine; D005485:Flutamide; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase