Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the serum levels of a bone formation marker, i.e., the carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), and a bone resorption marker, i.e., the carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) have prognostic value in prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis, compared with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
Methods: The serum levels of PICP, ALP, ICTP and PSA were examined in 116 untreated prostate cancer patients (40 patients with bone metastasis, 76 patients without bone metastasis), and the prognoses of the patients with bone metastasis were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results: The bone metastasis patients with low PICP or ALP values had significantly better outcomes compared to the bone metastasis patients with high PICP or ALP values. A multivariate analysis of PICP, ICTP, ALP, PSA and the patients' age revealed that PICP and patients' age were important prognostic factors for survival. The pretreatment levels of ICTP and PSA did not show any substantial relation to the prognosis of these patients.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the pretreatment serum bone formation marker is an important prognostic indicator for prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis.