Detection of micrometastatic prostate cancer cells in the bone marrow of patients with prostate cancer.
Thirty-five patients with prostate cancer were examined for micrometastases to the bone marrow using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers specific for the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) gene. Of nine patients with bone metastases detectable by bone scan imaging, five patients had PSA mRNA expression in the bone marrow detectable by RT-PCR. Of 26 patients with negative bone scan findings, seven patients had PSA mRNA expression detectable in the bone marrow. RT-PCR could detect micrometastatic prostate cancer cells in the bone marrow that were not detectable by bone scan imaging. Of 16 patients with a serum PSA concentration of 25 ng ml(-1) or greater, only nine (56.3%) had bone metastases detected by bone scans. Of the remaining seven patients, five had micrometastases to the bone marrow detected by RT-PCR. Overall, 14 of 16 patients (87.5%) with a serum PSA concentration of 25 ng ml(-1) or greater had metastatic bone diseases including bone marrow micrometastases. Of 19 patients with a serum PSA concentration of less than 25 ng ml(-1), two (10.5%) had only micrometastatic disease detected by RT-PCR. A significant correlation was observed between the incidence of bone involvement and the serum PSA concentration. This study suggests that RT-PCR will potentially develop into a relevant tool to assess bone involvement including bone marrow micrometastases and establish a precise correlation between serum PSA concentration and metastatic bone disease in patients with prostate cancer.
Deguchi
T
T
Department of Urology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu-shi, Japan.
Yang
M
M
Ehara
H
H
Ito
S
S
Nishino
Y
Y
Takahashi
Y
Y
Ito
Y
Y
Shimokawa
K
K
Tanaka
T
T
Imaeda
T
T
Doi
T
T
Kawada
Y
Y
D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019046:Bone Marrow Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen