Introduction: We ascertained whether plasma chromogranin A enhances the power of serology assessing prostate cancer (PC). Materials and Methods: We studied 56 PC and 83 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. In the sera we measured total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) and calculated the ratio between fPSA and tPSA (f/tPSA). In plasma samples the levels of chromogranin A (CgA) were also assayed. Results: PC patients had higher CgA (p < 0.005) and tPSA (p < 0.05) levels, and a lower f/tPSA ratio (p < 0.001), than BPH patients. When f/tPSA and CgA were combined, the diagnostic sensitivity was enhanced (57–73%), while the specificity had only an 8% reduction (from 89 to 80%). CgA was only correlated to the Gleason PC score (p < 0.05). Conclusions: CgA determination in PC may enhance the diagnostic accuracy of the f/tPSA assay and provides useful information on the tumor grade.

Keywords:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, Gleason grade, Neuroendocrine marker
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© 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
2005
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