Serum free prostate-specific antigen and zinc levels in experimental acute pancreatitis.

Serum free prostate-specific antigen (fPSA) is the most useful tumor marker for prostatic cancer screening. However, recently, fPSA has also been detected in sera from patients with pancreatic diseases. In addition, it has been shown that zinc (Zn) concentration might change in both serum and tissues in pancreatic disease. In the present study, we measured serum concentrations of fPSA and Zn as possible markers and prognostic factors in an experimental acute-pancreatitis model. Twenty-five female Wistar albino rats were divided into two groups: the control group (n=10) and the experimental group (n=15). Acute pancreatitis was induced by injection of ethyl alcohol into the common biliary duct. The animals were sacrificed 24 h later to detect the concentrations of serum fPSA and Zn. fPSA values were detected to be significantly higher in the experimental group (p < 0.001). There was also a significant decrease in the serum Zn level of the acute-pancreatitis group (p < 0.001). In conclusion, these findings suggested that a combination of these parameters might represent a significant improvement on the diagnostic value of each of them separately and provide a powerful tool for differential diagnosis and prognosis in pancreatic diseases.