The detection and isolation of viable prostate-specific antigen positive epithelial cells by enrichment: a comparison to standard prostate-specific antigen reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and its clinical relevance in prostate cancer.

Purpose: To isolate prostate epithelial cells from the peripheral blood and bone marrow, and compare prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on unenriched or epithelial enriched peripheral blood and bone marrow samples.

Patients And Methods: Peripheral blood samples from 371 patients with prostate cancer and 141 controls, and bone marrow samples from 292 patients with prostate cancer and 43 controls were obtained. One aliquot was assessed with PSA RT-PCR.