LEVELS OF CIRCULATING INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC CANCER OF THE PROSTATE AND BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA

Current reports suggest a role for intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ( ICAM-1) in the progression of malignancy. The availability of a new an tibody makes it possible to measure circulating ICAM-1 (cICAM-1) in hu man body fluids including serum; this might help in monitoring tumour burden and in providing additional prognostic information. In this stu dy, serum levels of cICAM-1 were measured by an ELISA assay in patient s with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH; n=20) and metastatic cancer of the prostate (CaP; n=25). Serum ICAM-1 concentrations were also mea sured in a group of healthy men (n=8). The mean +/- S.E.M. cICAM-1 lev el for BPM was 339.52 +/- 15.30 ng/ml compared with 263.55 +/- 18.54 n g/ml for Cap. Even though the difference between the two groups was si gnificant (P<0.005), there was a marked overlap between the individual values in both groups, thus minimising the prognostic value of these measurements in prostate cancer. Endocrine therapy had no notable effe ct on the serum levels of cICAM-1. The mean +/- S.E.M. cICAM-1 concent rations in serum from a younger group of healthy volunteers was 204.1 +/- 10.38 ng/ml, and this value was significantly lower than that meas ured in serum from either BPH or Cap. We also undertook some immunohis tochemical studies to examine the distribution of ICAM-1 in prostate t issue. We observed focal epithelial cell membrane staining which was e xceedingly patchy in both the BPH and cancer specimens. On the basis o f these studies, we suggest that cICAM-1 levels do not provide additio nal information on patients with metastatic Cap.