[DOWNLOAD] "Prostate-Specific Antigen: Advances and Challenges (Editorial)" by Clinical Chemistry ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

📘 Read Now     📥 Download

eBook details

• Title: Prostate-Specific Antigen: Advances and Challenges (Editorial)
• Author : Clinical Chemistry
• Release Date : January 01, 1999
• Genre: Chemistry,Books,Science & Nature,
• Pages : * pages
• Size : 159 KB

Description

In the quarter-century since its discovery (1), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been recognized as the most effective tumor marker for prostate cancer and has unquestionably played an important role in the diagnosis and clinical management of this disease. Prostate cancer remains the leading cancer site in men, with 179 300 new cancer cases estimated by the American Cancer Society for 1999, a slight decrease from the 1998 estimate of 184 500 cases (2). In addition to decreasing cancer cases, deaths from prostate cancer and cancer in general are declining, and prostate cancer survival rates are increasing (2). The incidence of prostate cancer has changed dramatically in the PSA era following the introduction of the first generation of PSA assays in the mid-1980s. Prostate cancer incidence increased 84% between 1987 and 1992 and then declined 46% between 1992 and 1994. This pattern has been attributed, in part, to increased cancer detection as a result of PSA testing with subsequent earlier diagnoses (3). Early detection of cancer affords a greater chance of detecting cancers at an early stage, when cancer is confined to the prostate and curative treatment is possible. Although PSA is considered an effective tumor marker and is for all intents and purposes organ specific, it is not cancer specific. There is considerable overlap in PSA concentrations in men with prostate cancer and men with benign prostate diseases, particularly in the range of 4-10 [micro]g/L. This range has thus been termed the diagnostic gray zone. Several approaches have been proposed and investigated to improve the diagnostic accuracy of PSA, including age-specific reference ranges, PSA density, PSA velocity, neural network-derived indexes, and the molecular forms of PSA (4). Use of the molecular forms, primarily focusing on free PSA and PSA bound to [[alpha].sub.1]-antichymotrypsin (ACT), has shown the most promise. In an article in a previous issue of Clinical Chemistry (5) and one in the present issue (6), Zhang and co-workers from the laboratory of Dr. Ulf-Hakan Stenman describe the formation of PSA complexes with [[alpha].sub.2] macroglobulin (A2M) and [[alpha].sub.1]-protease inhibitor (API); these articles are significant for their contributions in furthering the attempt to improve the clinical utility of PSA as well as the understanding of the biology of PSA.

Download Free Books "Prostate-Specific Antigen: Advances and Challenges (Editorial)" PDF ePub Kindle