Prostate-specific antigen: current status

Abstract

IntroductionProstate cancer remains the most common male malignancy and the second most common cause of prostate-related mortality in the United States.1 Many researchers have expended considerable efforts to alter these sobering statistics.In all significant diseases, three opportunities exist to decrease mortality. These include decreasing the incidence of disease, improving treatment, and facilitating early detection.A number of investigations are underway to lower the incidence of prostate cancer. Ultimately, this will require a clear understanding of the etiology of the disease. In the interim, however, several chemopreventive strategies have been initiated, the most ambitious of which is the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial in which men are randomly assigned to receive the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor finasteride or placebo for seven years. The study has completed accrual, but it will be several years before the results are known.Major strides have been made in therapeutic modalities for clinically localized prostate cancer. Improvements in surgical technique, as well as in radiation methodologies and novel therapeutic approaches, have all decreased the morbidity associated with the disease. Unfortunately, the most common cause of death from prostate cancer continues to be hormone refractory metastatic disease. While research efforts continue in an attempt to develop novel therapeutic strategies for this stage of disease, it is unlikely that significant improvements in efficacy will be realized soon.The third option for lowering mortality associated with any cancer is to enhance early detection. Three major technologies, together with increased public awareness about cancer in general and prostatic disease in particular, have dramatically changed the incidence of c u r r e n t s t a t u s o f p s a 264Ca-A cancer Journal for Clinicians

A lectin array-based methodology for the analysis of protein glycosylation

“…The presence of PSA in serum serves as a marker for the detection and monitoring of prostate carcinoma [20][21][22]. PSA is a 34-kDa glycoprotein with a single N-linked glycosylation site at Asn45.…”

Gleason’s Grading of Carcinoma Prostate with PSA Correlation

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Using the free-to-total prostate-specific antigen ratio to detect prostate cancer in men with nonspecific elevations of prostate-specific antigen levels

“…Similar design criteria should be applied for evaluating other recently proposed strategies for improving the specificity of PSA, including prostate-specific membrane antigen, human kallikrein 2, and newer assays of complexed PSA. 101 …”