SERUM PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN MEASURED IN CHILDREN FROM BIRTH TO AGE 18 YEARS

We measured prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum from 94 cord-bloo d samples, from 44 newborns, and from 330 children up to age 18 years, using a highly sensitive ''third-generation'' PSA assay on the IMMULI TE(R) (Diagnostic Products Corp.) analyzer. The serum was that remaini ng after cross-matching for blood transfusion, Most children were hosp italized for special care or surgery. We found detectable concentratio ns of PSA (greater than or equal to 0.003 mu g/L) in many cord sera an d in sera from both male and female neonates. PSA was more frequently detectable in cord and newborn sera from males than from females, but there was considerable overlap in values between the sexes, negating a ny possible usefulness of PSG for assigning male gender to newborns wi th ambiguous genitalia, PSA decreased to undetectable concentrations i n most prepubertal males and females but became detectable around the age of puberty in males. We speculate that the presence of detectable PSA in cord and newborn sera results from androgenic stimulation of pr ostatic tissue in males or from stimulation of breast or other tissue by prolactin or progesterone in females.