Wolff J M, Fandel T, Borchers H, Brehmer B, Jakse G
Department of Urology, RWTH Aachen, Germany.
Br J Urol. 1998 Mar;81(3):403-5.
To assess serum levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), normally markedly elevated in prostate cancer tissue, in patients with cancer of the prostate, and to correlate these levels with tumour stage and serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels.
Serum TFG-beta1 and PSA levels were determined in 32 patients with untreated prostate cancer. Patients were divided into: group 1, 14 patients with pT1-3pN0M0; group 2, four with T1-3pN+M0); and group 3, 14 with T1-4NxM+. Ten patients with histologically confirmed benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) served as controls.
The median TGF-beta1 levels were no different between patients with cancer or BPH (30.7 ng/mL and 26.9 ng/mL, respectively; P > 0.05). Furthermore, there was no increase in TGF-beta1 concentrations with advancing tumour stage (group 1, 34.1 ng/mL; group 2, 33.0 ng/mL; group 3, 28.3 ng/mL; P > 0.05). There was no correlation with PSA levels (group 1, r= -0.42: group 2, r= -0.43; group 3, r= -0.23; BPH, r=0.38).
TGF-beta1 levels did not discriminate between patients with BPH and prostate cancer, and there was no increase in TGF-beta1 levels with advancing tumour stage.
