Department of Urology, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Arch Med Res. 2013 May;44(4):259-65. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2013.03.008. Epub 2013 May 22.
Despite previous reports implying a role of β2-microglobulin (β2M) in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), the correlation of serum β2M with the clinicopathological features, therapy efficacy and prognosis of patients with PCa have not been fully clarified. The present study aims to investigate the serum levels of β2M in patients with PCa and explore the potential use of β2M as a tumor marker for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of PCa.
Serum β2M levels in 120 patients with PCa, 50 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and 85 healthy age-matched controls were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The correlation of serum β2M with the clinicopathological features, therapy efficacy and the prognosis of PCa were subsequently assessed.
Our results showed that: (i) PCa patients had significantly higher levels of β2M compared to those of patients with BPH or those of healthy controls. (ii) Serum β2M were markedly elevated in patients with high stage or grade PCa as compared to patients with low stage or grade PCa. (iii) We measured significantly higher levels of β2M in patients with metastasis as compared to patients lacking metastasis. (iv) During follow-up, serum β2M showed a marked decrease after successful therapy and a significant further increase in recurrent disease.
Our results demonstrate that serum β2M is correlated closely with the clinical stage, Gleason grade, PSA, distant metastasis and therapy efficacy in patients with PCa. Serum β2M may be a useful biomarker for clinical diagnosis, follow-up and prognosis of PCa.
尽管先前的报告暗示β2-微球蛋白（β2M）在前列腺癌（PCa）的发展中起作用，但血清β2M与 PCa 患者的临床病理特征、治疗效果和预后的相关性尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在探讨 PCa 患者血清β2M 水平，并探索β2M 作为 PCa 诊断、治疗和预后的肿瘤标志物的潜在用途。
采用酶联免疫吸附法检测 120 例 PCa 患者、50 例良性前列腺增生（BPH）患者和 85 例年龄匹配的健康对照者的血清β2M 水平。随后评估血清β2M 与临床病理特征、治疗效果和 PCa 预后的相关性。
我们的结果表明：（i）与 BPH 患者或健康对照者相比，PCa 患者的β2M 水平显著升高。（ii）与低分期或低分级 PCa 患者相比，高分期或高分级 PCa 患者的血清β2M 水平明显升高。（iii）与无转移患者相比，转移患者的β2M 水平显著升高。（iv）在随访期间，成功治疗后血清β2M 水平明显下降，复发时进一步显著升高。
我们的研究结果表明，血清β2M 与 PCa 患者的临床分期、Gleason 分级、PSA、远处转移和治疗效果密切相关。血清β2M 可能是 PCa 临床诊断、随访和预后的有用生物标志物。
