ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to evaluate caveolin-1 (CAV-1) levels as a possible alternative for the prostate specific antigen in the diagnosis of patients with prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa).

The study was conducted with 33 cases (mean age 67.2 (45-90) years) and 16 control patients (mean age 56.68 (48-77) years). Blood sample solution results of both the groups were read twice, and the average optical density of the zero standard was subtracted from the solution results’ average.

The average levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were 1.1 (±0.64) for the control group and 12.3 (±8.7) for patients with adenocarcinoma. The average levels of CAV-1 were 336 (±41.1) in the control group and 476 (±66.9) in patients with adenocarcinoma. PCa was detected in 33 patients, 27 of whom underwent prostatectomy, and the remaining 6 began hormonotherapy. Of these 33 patients, 2 had a Gleason score of 4, 16 had a Gleason score of 6, 10 had a Gleason score of 7, 3 had a Gleason score of 8, and 2 had a Gleason score of 9. Patients with PCa had higher PSA and CAV-1 than the control group (p<0.05). CAV-1 (correlation parameter: 0.43) and PSA (correlation parameter: 0.48) were observed to increase with age (p<0.05). A positive linear correlation was observed between PSA and CAV-1 in all of the cases, but this relationship was not significant for cases with PCa (p>0.05).

The level of CAV-1 was found to be higher in patients with PCa. CAV-1 can be used as an alternative for PSA, but it is not superior to PSA with respect to diagnosis, cost, and testing difficulty. In spite of the challenges its examination presents, CAV-1 is a protein, which should be tested in areas, such as early diagnosis, active surveillance, hormone refractory PCa, and radical prostatectomy.

Keywords: Caveolin, prostate carcinoma, PSA, prostate-specific antigen