Correlation of prostate-specific acid phosphatase and prostate-specific antigen immunocytochemistry with survival in prostate carcinoma.

Prostate-specific acid phosphatase, a secretory product of prostatic cells, may be a secondary product of the interaction of hormones with their receptor proteins. In this study we have examined two independent patient populations to see whether the intensity or extent of prostate-specific acid phosphatase and/or prostate-specific antigen staining correlated with survival and hormonal manipulation. One population of 24 patients was selected from patients undergoing surgical resection for adenocarcinoma Stage B or C at the Mayo Clinic. The second population of 123 patients was obtained from Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Protocols 75-06 and 77-06. Tissue from both populations was analyzed. In both populations, the intensity of prostate-specific acid phosphatase staining correlated with survival in a statistically significant manner. Staining with prostate-specific antigen was present in greater than 90% of specimens; data was therefore not analyzed. In those patients who subsequently relapsed and were subjected to hormonal manipulation, there appeared to be a higher likelihood of response to hormones with intense prostate-specific acid phosphatase staining.