[Plasma endothelin-1 in patients with prostate cancer and its clinical significance].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) level in patients with prostate cancers and its clinical significance. METHODS: Plasma ET-1 level was measured by radioimmunoassay in 31 patients of prostate cancer (23 with non-HRPC, 8 with HRPC) and 26 patients of BPH. RESULTS: Compared with each other of the ET-1 level, there were no significant difference among the BPH group,non-HRPC group and HRPC group. No significant difference was found either between bone metastasis (BM) and non- BM, between high and middling differentiation prostate cancer group, as well as in different PSA level groups (P >0.05). But the ET-1 level in low differentiation prostate cancer was notably lower than those of the high and middle respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: To detect plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) level is not a useful method to evaluate the development and the prognosis of prostate cancer.