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Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Does not Improve Preoperative Prostate Cancer Staging: A Clinicopathological Molecular Analysis of 121 Patients
Mitchell H. Sokoloff, Cho-Lea Tso, Randhir Kaboo, Scott D. Nelson, Judy Ko, Frederick J. Dorey, Robert A. Figlin, Shen Pang et al.. The Journal of Urology, 1996-11-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Circulating PSA producing cells were present in 29 of 33 patients (88 percent) with metastatic prostate cancer. Two of 19 patients (11 percent) with no known prostate cancer exhibited positive signals (1 later had prostate cancer), establishing a sensitivity of 88 percent and specificity of 94 percent for our assay. Positive PSA polymerase chain reaction signals were detected in 30 of 51 patients (59 percent) with stages pT1 and pT2 disease and in 13 of 18 (72 percent) with stage pT3 cancer. No statistically significant relationship of a positive PSA polymerase chain reaction signal to pathological stage, tumor grade, apical involvement or positive surgical margins was found, and no benefit was derived by measuring the quantity of circulating PSA polymerase chain reaction signals. Circulating prostate specific membrane antigen polymerase chain reaction signals were identified mostly in patients with advanced prostate cancer and offered no benefit to preoperative staging. Given the high incidence of false-positive signals in patients with pathologically determined localized disease, in our experience polymerase chain reaction based assays offer no immediate benefit for preoperative prostate cancer staging. The prognostic significance of detecting circulating prostate specific signals awaits longer followup in this cohort of patients, which is currently under study. References 1 : Adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Google Scholar 2 : Changes in prostate cancer incidence and treatment in USA. Google Scholar 3 : Radical prostatectomy for clinical stage T1-2N0M0 prostatic adenocarcinoma: long-term results. Abstract, Google Scholar 4 : Treatment of localized carcinoma of the prostate (clinical stages A and B). Google Scholar 5 : Radical prostatectomy. Patterns of local failure and survival in 67 patients. Google Scholar 6 : The risk of dying of prostate cancer in patients with clinically localized disease. Link, Google Scholar 7 : Nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy: extraprostatic tumor extension and preservation of erectile function. Link, Google Scholar 8 : An assessment of radical prostatectomy. Time trends, geographic variation, and outcomes. The Prostate Patient Outcomes Research Team. Google Scholar 9 : Morphologic analysis of surgical margins with positive findings in prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Google Scholar 10 : Radical prostatectomy as a monotherapy for locally advanced (stage T3) prostate cancer. Link, Google Scholar 11 : Effect o
Key findings
- Circulating PSA producing cells were present in 29 of 33 patients (88 percent) with metastatic prostate cancer.
- Two of 19 patients (11 percent) with no known prostate cancer exhibited positive signals (1 later had prostate cancer), establishing a sensitivity of 88 percent and specificity of 94 percent for our assay.
- Positive PSA polymerase chain reaction signals were detected in 30 of 51 patients (59 percent) with stages pT1 and pT2 disease and in 13 of 18 (72 percent) with stage pT3 cancer.
- No statistically significant relationship of a positive PSA polymerase chain reaction signal to pathological stage, tumor grade, apical involvement or positive surgical margins was found, and no benefit was derived by measuring the quantity of circulating PSA polymerase chain reaction signals.
- Circulating prostate specific membrane antigen polymerase chain reaction signals were identified mostly in patients with advanced prostate cancer and offered no benefit to preoperative staging.
Why it matters
This study found that polymerase chain reaction based assays offered no immediate benefit for preoperative prostate cancer staging, with no statistically significant relationship of a positive PSA polymerase chain reaction signal to pathological stage, tumor grade, apical involvement or positive surgical margins. The prognostic significance of detecting circulating prostate specific signals awaits longer followup.
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Study details
- Participants121
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of Urology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Journal of Urology: journal h-index 373 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1996 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 121 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 91 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.8 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Arie S. Belldegrun: h-index 101 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Sokoloff, M. H., Tso, C.-L., Kaboo, R., Nelson, S. D., Ko, J., Dorey, F. J., et al. (1996). Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Does not Improve Preoperative Prostate Cancer Staging: A Clinicopathological Molecular Analysis of 121 Patients. The Journal of Urology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-5347(01)65447-8
Vancouver
Sokoloff MH, Tso C.-L, Kaboo R, Nelson SD, Ko J, Dorey FJ, et al. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Does not Improve Preoperative Prostate Cancer Staging: A Clinicopathological Molecular Analysis of 121 Patients. The Journal of Urology. 1996. doi:10.1016/s0022-5347(01)65447-8.
BibTeX
@article{sokoloff1996-a0c84a40,
author = {Sokoloff, Mitchell H. and Tso, Cho-Lea and Kaboo, Randhir and Nelson, Scott D. and Ko, Judy and Dorey, Frederick J. and Figlin, Robert A. and Pang, Shen and others},
title = {{Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Does not Improve Preoperative Prostate Cancer Staging: A Clinicopathological Molecular Analysis of 121 Patients}},
journal = {The Journal of Urology},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1016/s0022-5347(01)65447-8},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-5347(01)65447-8}
}