Tumour Markers in Prostatic Cancer: Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP),Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA) and Lipid Associated Sialic Acid (LASA)

Abstract

Among tumour markers in clinical practice, interest has been aroused by the products of the cellular membrane, such as LASA (Lipid Associated Sialic Acid). The aim of our work was to assess the clinical value of LASA in patients affected by prostatic cancer at different stages and grades, and to compare the usefulness of LASA as a tumour marker over Prostate Acid Phosphatase (PAP) and Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), which are well known markers of tumour extension in prostatic cancer. In this study we perfomed serum dosage of LASA, PAP and PSA in fifty-five patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma, 10 cases of stage A1/A2, 13 B1/B2, 6 C1/C2 and 26 D1/D2. This study shows that LASA may complement diagnostic and prognostic values of other existing tumour markers for prostate cancer.