Laboratory Tests in Diagnosing Cancer of the Prostate

Abstract

Many problems are associated with the study of laboratory tests for diagnosing prostatic cancer.

The wide range of values considered normal in acid phosphatase tests, the elevation of acid phosphatase in numerous related and unrelated diseases, the elevation of alkaline phosphatase in metastatic disease of the bone or liver, the nonspecificity of the sedimentation rate, and the difficulty of evaluating symptoms all complicate this diagnosis.

In more than 50 per cent of a series of 837 patients with proved cancer of the prostate studied by the authors, results of all tests were normal and roentgenograms showed no abnormalities. The authors concluded that laboratory tests have limited value in excluding a diagnosis of prostatic cancer.