Comparison Between Circulating Immune Complexes and Prostate Specific Antigen to Assess the Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer

Prostrate cancer is a common cancer in males with increasing rate of incidence these days. Two known markers prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) have been used for diagnosis and in the clinical management of prostate cancer patients. PAP and PSA tests are not specific and hence not reliable. Therefore, certain immunological tests need to be developed to aid the clinicians in early detection, metastasis and recurrence and also to follow clinical course of the disease and/or its response to therapy. The present study shows that the circulating immune complexes (CICs) may be associated with the pathogenesis of prostate cancer and their progression. CICs were investigated in 50 prostate cancer patients having different grades of the disease and 45 benign prostate hyperplasia patients (BPH). Estimation of CICs was done using 3.75% Polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) serum precipitation. The results obtained were compared with normal healthy individuals. 83.33% and 91.66% positivity was observed in Grade I and Grade II prostate carcinomas respectively, whereas 100% positivity was observed in Grade III and Grade IV prostate carcinoma. BPH patients showed 60% positivity. Strong positive correlation (r=0.5748) between Prostate specific antigen (PSA) and CIC was observed in prostate cancer patients. Present investigation shows CICs may be associated with the pathogenesis of prostate cancers. The further qualitative analysis of CICs may help us to formulate specific immunological tests for early detection, management and monitoring the efficacy of treatment in prostate cancers.