High serum prostate-specific antigen concentrations in hirsute women do not decrease with treatment by the combination of spironolactone and the contraceptive pill.

Using an ultrasensitive assay, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been detected in female serum and has been proposed as a potential marker of androgen excess in hirsute women. Measurement of PSA levels in serum may play a role in monitoring hirsutism during antiandrogen therapy. We investigated the role of PSA as a marker of androgen activity in hirsute patients taking spironolactone together with oral contraceptive pills containing ethinyl estradiol and gestodene. Twenty-eight hirsute patients were included in the study. Clinical and biochemical variables including serum levels of PSA (using an ultrasensitive chemiluminscent immunoassay), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, total testosterone, free testosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were recorded at baseline and after six cycles of treatment. Fifteen healthy women were included in the study as controls. Serum PSA levels in hirsute women were clearly higher than in the control group (0.023 +/- 0.004 vs. 0.006 +/- 0.003 ng/ml, p < 0.001) and correlated with baseline serum free testosterone concentrations (r = 0.518, p = 0.005). After 6 months, serum PSA concentrations as compared with baseline values did not change significantly in patients who were given spironolactone plus contraceptive pills (p = 0.4) despite a marked decrease in total testosterone, free testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and hirsutism score (p < 0.05). Thus, serum PSA levels in hirsute women were higher than in non-hirsute healthy controls. A 6-month course of treatment with spironolactone combined with contraceptive pills containing ethinylestradiol and gestodene did not reduce high serum PSA levels in these subjects. In conclusion, the serum PSA level is not a convenient biochemical marker with the available assays for the management of hirsute women treated with the combination of spironolactone and oral contraceptives.