Association of gamma glutamyl transferase with prostate specific antigen levels in patients with prostatic disorders

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate related diseases like prostatitis, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), prostatic carcinoma are observed most commonly in elderly males. Prostatic specific antigen (PSA) is a common biomarker of prostate related disorders but due to various limitations, new biomarkers are in need for prostate diseases diagnosis. Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) is also known to be synthesised by the prostate gland. In this study we evaluated the role of GGT as a biomarker of prostatic disorders by observing the association of GGT with PSA. Materials and Methods: This case control study was conducted at Sri Ramachandra Medical college & Research Institute, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai In this study the case group consisted of 38 males aged between 45-90 years with prostate disorders (prostatitis, BPH, Prostatic cancer). The control group consisted of 187 healthy males of age 45-90 years. Patients with high ALP were excluded to rule out hepatobiliary disease. Relevant patient details and laboratory investigations were collected and statistical analysis done. Results: The correlation coefficient, r value between PSA and GGT in the control group was –0.076 and in the cases group was -0.049. There was no statistically significant difference between the PSA and GGT levels in both the study groups (p value in control group=0.300; p value in cases group=0.769). Conclusion: From this study we conclude that GGT cannot be used as a prostate diseases biomarker as there was not much statistical significant difference between the PSA and GGT values among both the controls and cases group. Keywords: Prostate disorders, Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), Prostatic cancer, Gamma glutamyl transferase, Prostate specific antigen.