Binding of Serum Prostate Antigen to Concanavalin A in Patients with Cancer or Hyperplasia of the Prostate

Abstract

The percentage of nonglycosylated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was measured in the serum of 15 prostate cancer patients and 15 patients with benign hyperplasia of the prostate. The larger part of serum PSA in both groups was glycosylated, but while in carcinoma of the prostate the mean percentage of nonglycosylated PSA was 38.4 .+-. 6.5, in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) only a mean of 14.2 .+-. 4.3% of the PSA was nonglycosylated. These significantly higher results (p < 0.001) suggest a different pattern of release of PSA from cancer cells and from hyperplastic or normal cells. Since in a part of the BPH we encounter elevations of PSA similar to the levels found in neoplasms, the degree of concanavalin A binding can provide an additional means in differentiating between benign and malignant lesions.