title: [Variability of values of prostate-specific antigen determined with 6 methods].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To illustrate the variability of serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and its causes in relevant clinical patient populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  University Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six different methods of PSA analysis were applied to sera of 19 participants of a screening population, 20 patients after radical prostatectomy, and 15 newly diagnosed patients with a prostate carcinoma. The Hybritech Tandem-R value was chosen as the standard to compare the methods of analysis. Around a standard of 4.0 micrograms/l a range of 3.3 to 7.2 micrograms/l was found; around 10.0 micrograms/l a range of 8.7 to 18.5 micrograms/l. After radical prostatectomy the different methods of analysis agreed completely in only 5 out of 15 patients with respect to serum PSA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because of a considerable variability in serum PSA values between different laboratories and methods of analysis, and of overlap between benign and malignant prostatic diseases, reference values of PSA should be handled with great care.
authors.affiliation: Afd. Urologie, Academisch Ziekenhuis Rotterdam-Dijkzigt.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bangma
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Blijenberg
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Schröder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen