Urinary polyamine levels in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate.

Urinary excretion of the basic polyamine, spermidine, was significantly elevated in patients with prostatic carcinoma as compared to a control group of patients, Of 44 urine specimens from patients with prostatic malignancy 31 had spermidine levels more than 2 mg. per 24 hours, while only 3 of 13 urine specimens from the control groups had levels in excess of this value. The increase in spermidine appeared to be correlated with the histologic grading of the tumor, that is 30 of 34 specimens from patients with grade II, III or IV carcinoma had excessive spermidine excretion and only 1 of 10 urine specimens from patients with grade I tumors had similiar spermidine elevations. High spermidine levles were found in tumors localized to the prostate and in 7 of 8 patients with negative pelvic and para-aortic lymph node biopsies. This study raises the possibility that urinary spermidine determinations may aid in the development of a biochemical screening test for prostatic neoplasms.