title: The chromogranin-A (CgA) in prostate cancer.
abstract: Prostate cancer is one of the most frequent tumors in men. The neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer has become more widely recognized and has attracted considerable attention as a potentially new finding with major diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic implications. We investigated the role of the serum concentrations of CgA in a group of 57 patients with prostate cancer and in 61 elderly subjects with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is the most frequently employed marker to detect neuroendocrine features. Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), CgA and NSE levels were determined. Comparing prostate cancer group versus BPH group, the CgA level difference was 63.00 ng/ml (p<0.0001) and the PSA level difference was 50.86 mcg/ml (p<0.0001). Between prostate cancer group and control group the CgA level difference was 94.3 ng/ml (p<0.0001), the PSA level difference was 52.91 mcg/ml (p<0.0001), and the NSE level difference was 1.34 microg/l (p<0.0001). Patients with higher CgA levels had poorer prognosis and survival, compared to those with lower CgA levels. These results support the concept that serum CgA level determination before treatment is a potential prognostic factor for prostate cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Senescence, Urological and Neurological Sciences, University of Catania, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, I-95126 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ranno
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motta
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rampello
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Risino
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bennati
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malaguarnera
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D053379:Chromogranin A / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D015592:Immunoradiometric Assay; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000097:blood; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053379:Chromogranin A; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase