Abstract
Background: Though serum total Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most important biological marker used for diagnosing Prostate cancer, its limitation has been lack of specificity. Total PSA has two fractions- free PSA and complexed PSA. Free PSA/total PSA ratio has increased specificity in diagnosing Prostate Cancer. It is unclear whether short-term storage of serum samples at commonly used temperature ranges in diagnostic laboratories has an impact on free PSA levels in serum. Objective: In this study our objective was to evaluate the stability of free PSA at temperature ranges- 4-80C and room temperature (23 - 280C) over 3 days. Methods: Study group consisted of 9 subjects from St. John's Medical College Hospital. Serum samples were analyzed for free PSA levels on Day 0 (baseline values), and after storage at room temperature (23-280C) and 4-80C on Days 1 and 3. Stability of serum total PSA levels over 3 days was evaluated using Pearson Correlation test. Results: Pearson Correlation Coefficient
Highlights
899,000 new cases of Prostate cancer occur every year
We evaluated the impact of sample storage temperature and duration on serum free Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels
Serum was aliquoted and stored at -200C for 1 month and if the storage extended beyond 1 month, the serum samples were stored at -700C to maintain the stability of free PSA in serum, till further analysis.[7, 11]
Summary
899,000 new cases of Prostate cancer occur every year. Annually, it accounts for 258,000 deaths globally. 1 Serum total Prostate-Specific antigen (total PSA) has been widely used in diagnosis and monitoring of Prostate Cancer. Though serum total Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most important biological marker used for diagnosing Prostate cancer, its limitation has been lack of specificity. Free PSA/total PSA ratio has increased specificity in diagnosing Prostate Cancer. It is unclear whether short-term storage of serum samples at commonly used temperature ranges in diagnostic laboratories has an impact on free PSA levels in serum. Objective: In this study our objective was to evaluate the stability of free PSA at temperature ranges- 4-8 0C and room temperature (23 - 280C) over 3 days. Serum samples were analyzed for free PSA levels on Day 0 (baseline values), and after storage at room temperature (23-280C) and 4-80C on Days 1 and 3. Stability of serum total PSA levels over 3 days was evaluated using Pearson’s Correlation test.
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