Serum insulin-like growth factor-I is positively associated with serum prostate-specific antigen in middle-aged men without evidence of prostate cancer.
Oliver SE., Barrass B., Gunnell DJ., Donovan JL., Peters TJ., Persad RA., Gillatt D., Neal DE., Hamdy FC., Holly JMP.
We have examined the relationship between serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and prostate-specific antigen in 367 healthy men without evidence of prostate cancer and found a positive association (P = 0.05). In men without prostate cancer, serum prostate-specific antigen is closely related to prostate size, and our findings, therefore, suggest that IGF-I may induce prostatic epithelial proliferation. Higher circulating levels of IGF-I have been associated with increased risk of both prostate cancer and possibly benign prostatic hyperplasia. Greater rates of cell proliferation induced by IGF-I may be a key biological pathway underlying these disorders.