FIRST CLINICAL-RESULTS WITH ENZYMUN-TEST(R) FOR FREE PSA

Background: Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is widely used for the det ection and monitoring of prostate cancer (CAP) but PSA is elevated in many patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The measurement of free PSA may improve the discrimination between CAP and BPH. Mater ial and Methods: Free PSA (F-PSA) and total PSA (T-PSA) were measured using kits based on the Enzymun-Test principle. The patient population was composed of 38 untreated CAP patients, 76 BPH patients and 29 pro statitis patients. Results: At cut-off levels of 0.15 for the F-PSA/T- PSA ratio and IO ng/ml for TPSA the specificity and sensitivity for de tecting CAP were respectively 87% and 84% for F-PSA/T-PSA ratio and 80 % and 63% for T-PSA. Conclusion: The F-PSA/T-PSA ratio is more powerfu l at discriminating between CAP and BPH than T-PSA alone and may contr ibute to a reduction in unnecessary invasive techniques.