Association of plasma intermedin levels with progression and metastasis in men after radical prostatectomy for localized prostatic cancer.

Background: Adrenomedullin levels in the peripheral blood are associated with prognosis of some cancers. Intermedin is structural similarities to adrenomedullin.

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of plasma intermedin levels for progression and distant metastasis in prostate cancers.

Methods: This study included 218 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for localized prostatic cancer and 218 age-matched healthy men. Plasma intermedin levels were measured using radioimmunoassay. The relationships between plasma intermedin levels and 5-year progression and 5-year distant metastasis were evaluated using a multivariate analysis.

Results: Plasma intermedin levels were markedly higher in all patients than in healthy men. Patients with Gleason score ≥ 7, tumor node metastasis stage T2, organ unconfined, present extra-prostatic extension, seminal vesicle invasion or positive lymph node had higher intermedin levels. Intermedin was identified as a prognostic predictor for 5-year progression and 5-year metastasis. Under receiver operating characteristic curves, intermedin had high predictive values for 5-year progression and 5-year metastasis.

Conclusions: Elevated plasma intermedin levels are independently associated with long-term recurrence and distant metastasis of prostate cancer and intermedin has potential to be a prognostic predictive biomarker for prostate cancer.