Analysis of prostatic acid phosphatase in urine voided before and after massage of the prostate in infertile men.

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) - a specific marker of prostatic secretion - has been analyzed by radioimmunoassay in samples of urine voided before and after massage of the prostate. In all patients there was an increase in urine PAP concentration after massage irrespective of the occurrence of expressed prostatic secretion. The mean PAP values increased from 4.9 to 45.8 micrograms/l. No significant change in urine creatinine concentration was observed. No lactoferrin was detected in the urine which should indicate that no secretion from the seminal vesicles was expressed into the urethra during massage of the prostate. Analysis of PAP in urine after massage of the prostate could increase the value of a urine sediment and microbial analysis in the investigation of male infertility.