Ornithine decarboxylase activity in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa), the most common solid malignant neoplasm in men, is characterized using the Gleason score and diagnosed using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biomarker. However, Gleason score and PSA-based diagnostics are not universal and have significant limitations. It is supposed that the ornithine decarboxylase activity (AODC) could be a suitable auxiliary biomarker for the PCa diagnosis or monitoring the therapeutic efficacy. AIM To assess the relation between AODC in PCa tissues and the level of serum PSA with the Gleason score (GS) and the clinical stage. MATERIALS AND METHODS 29 patients (48 to 79 years old) with prostate adenocarcinoma of different GS (6 to 10) and clinical stage (T1 to T4) were enrolled in the study. The AODC was analyzed in the PCa tissues by the modified spectrophotometric assay. RESULTS The patients with PCa were distributed into two groups: with low AODC  0.45. In group with AODC  0.45, the highest value of AODC was recorded in the patients with the highest GS (= 9-10). Furthermore, in group with AODC > 0.45, the highest value of AODC was registered in the patients with T1 or T4 stage. The highest levels of serum PSA were detected in T3-T4 cases and in cases with the highest GS. CONCLUSION The patterns of AODC and serum PSA can be used as supplementary indices useful for monitoring PCa course.