Clinical significanse of prostate-specific antigen in breast cancer patients

Background. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is predominantly produced by prostate epithelium, however, other tissues can serve as its minor sources in both men and women, including breast tissue. In women, elevated serum PSA levels have been described in different physiological and pathological conditions, including benign breast diseases and breast cancer (BC). PSA is considered as a potential serum tumor marker for BC, but evidences of its possible clinical significance are insufficiently convincing. Aim of the study: investigation of PSA levels in female BC patients and assessment of perspectives of its study as a diagnostic tool for early detection of BC. Material and methods. Serum PSA levels were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay (ARCHITECT, Abbott) in 99 female patients with histologically confirmed BC (carcinoma in situ - 11, stage I - 56, stage IIA - 32) and 25 conditionally healthy female donors. Results. In the donor group, serum PSA was revealed in 22/25 (88,0 %) cases, and its mean level was 4.0 ± 0.9 ng/l. In the group of BC patients, detectable PSA level was revealed in 68/99 (68.7 %) cases, and its mean level was 2.8 ± 0.9 ng/l. Differences between groups of BC patients and donors in mean marker values were not statistically significant (p>0,05). Serum PSA levels were higher in young women: in the group of BC patients under 40 years old, percentage of PSA -positive cases was 89 %, in the group of patients over 50 years old - 60 %; in groups of donors under 40 and over 50 years old - 100 % and 80 %, respectively. In cases of in situ carcinoma, the mean serum PSA was higher than in cases with stages I and II (3.0 ± 1.2 ng/l vs 1.9 ± 0.3 ng/l and 1.6 ± 0.3 ng/l, respectively; p>0,05). In the group of BC patients, no PSA levels were found to be dependent on the histological type, grade and molecular subtype of the tumor. Conclusion. The PSA level has no clinical significance in early stages of BC, since the proportion of cases with elevated PSA levels and it’s mean value in patients with early stages of BC don’t differ from those in the group of healthy women. © 2020, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.