Evaluation of Serum Prostate Specific Antigens in Breast Cancer.

ABSTRACT

Serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is an established tumor marker for prostate cancer but its “specificity” for prostatic diseases was challenged after its extra prostatic sources and its presence in female serum was detected. Various studies showed the association of Total PSA (TPSA) and Free PSA (FPSA) with breast cancer in females. The present study was conducted to evaluate the status of TPSA and FPSA as a tumor marker in breast cancer patients. 54 breast cancer cases with 36 fibroadenoma patients along with 40 controls were selected for the study. Their blood samples were analyzed for estimation of serum Testosterone, TPSA and FPSA along with routine biochemical parameters. 34 breast cancer with 20 fibroadenoma cases were reevaluated for TPSA and FPSA 6 months after tumor removal by surgery. Our observations revealed high TPSA in the patient group compared to controls and raised FPSA specifically in breast cancer cases. FPSA was also found to be the predominant molecular form in breast cancer cases. A significant positive association was documented between serum Testosterone and PSA level in the study group. Both the parameters registered a significant decline after surgery. On statistical analysis TPSA and FPSA were found to possess high specificity for breast cancer cases but were deficient in the desired sensitivity to be considered as an ideal tumor marker.