COMPARISON OF PROSTATE-SPECIFIC MEMBRANE ANTIGEN, AND PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN LEVELS IN PROSTATIC-CANCER PATIENTS

PSA (prostate specific antigen) and PSMA (prostate specific membrane a ntigen) serum levels were determined in over 235 prostate cancer patie nts from 8 different United States clinical urological cancer centers. The clinical data were not known until after the serum assay results were shared with all participants to attempt to eliminate possible cli nical bias. PSA values are useful in the clinical diagnosis and stagin g of prostate cancer patients, and generally fall to low values in res ponse to effective treatment, e.g., surgery hormones, radiation, chemo therapy. PSMA values are not related to clinical stage bur if elevated can fall in response to effective treatments. In contrast, PSMA value s can be elevated post-treatment in the presence of very low PSA level s (0.01 to 0.00). The elevated PSMA levels predicted a state of clinic al progression or clinical resistance in most cases (> 70%). PSMA leve ls in this study were of better prognostic value than PSA.