DEOXYTHYMIDINE KINASE IN THE STAGING OF PROSTATIC ADENOCARCINOMA

The role of prostate-specific antigen in the management of prostatic a denocarcinoma is still not fully ascertained. Its place in the monitor ing of patients who have undergone radical treatment is without questi on but its role in the primary assessment of a lesion is a point of co ntinuous discussion. This study reports the analysis of prostate-speci fic antigen (PSA) in 92 patients with different stages of prostatic ad enocarcinoma prior to treatment; in the case of the localized lesions, this was based to a great extent on the findings at lymphadenectomy. Apart from PSA analysis, deoxythymidine kinase (dTK) analyses were als o performed in an attempt to discover whether the latter could provide additional information about the tumor load in the different patient categories, viz. those with lymph node involvement (group 1), those wi th lymph node involvement but without distant metastases (group 2), an d those with disseminated disease (group 3). The median PSA and dTK va lues in groups 1-3 were 6.5 mu g/L and 2.7 U/mu l, 16 mu g/L and 2.6 U /mu L, and 90 mu/L and 7.8 U/mu L, respectively. If the two analyses w ere used concomitantly, they could differentiate true localized diseas e from metastatic in approximately 92% of cases. The combination shoul d prove of value in the primary assessment of a patient with a newly d iagnosed prostatic adenocarcinoma. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.