The diagnostic significance of serum creatine kinase-BB isoenzyme in adenocarcinoma of prostate

Abstract

The relative diagnostic usefulness of total serum acid phosphatase, tartrate-inhibited fraction of acid phosphatase, immunoreactive prostatic acid phosphatase, and creatine kinase-BB isoenzyme was evaluated in 30 patients with biopsy-proven adenocarcinoma of prostate. The total and tartrate-inhibited acid phosphatase, measured by standard chemical methods, were elevated in 8 patients with stage D disease. The radioimmunoassay (RIA) method confirmed these abnormal values and also indicated the presence of elevated prostatic serum acid phosphatase in 3 additional patients. The electrophoretic fractionation of total serum creatine kinase (CK) into its various isoenzyme components showed the presence of CK-BB isoenzyme in 8 patients. In 5 of these patients with detectable CK-BB isoenzyme, RIA values for prostatic acid phosphatase were also elevated. Histologic studies of the prostatic tissues revealed that the presence of serum CK-BB was invariably associated with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of prostate. The results of the present studies indicate that 1) with simultaneous measurements of serum CK-BB and immunoreactive prostatic acid phosphatase laboratory confirmation of prostatic cancer can be obtained in 50 per cent of patients; 2) determination of total and tartrate-inhibited acid phosphatase along with CK-BB and immunoreactive prostatic acid phosphatase does not increase the frequency of correct diagnosis; and 3) the presence of serum CL-BB isoenzyme is suggestive of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of prostate.