Effects of hemodialysis on prostate-specific antigen.

We undertook a prospective study to evaluate the effects of hemodialysis on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in 26 male patients with end-stage renal disease as a clinical model for assessing the role of the kidney in PSA clearance. Patients ranging in age from fifty-one to eighty-three years (mean 64.8 years) underwent phlebotomy immediately before and after outpatient hemodialysis on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule, with serum PSA values determined by the Abbott IMX Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay. The mean +/- standard deviation for all post-dialysis PSA levels, 2.43 +/- 3.74, was significantly greater than that for pre-dialysis levels, 2.11 +/- 3.19 (p = 0.04). However, no statistically significant differences were found on comparing the combined pre- and post-dialysis PSA values over the course of the study (p = 0.2733) or when sequential pre-dialysis (p = 0.28) and post-dialysis (p = 0.92) levels were analyzed separately. We conclude that PSA is not eliminated by hemodialysis, and our results infer that it is not cleared by renal mechanisms.

Duke Scholars

Author Dean George Assimos Urology