The Cheshire cat phenomenon: effects of nonionizing electromagnetic radiation.

Twenty-seven of 152 patients (18%) with progressing hormone resistant prostate cancer had normal serum levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA < 1O jig l-), when referred for secondary treatment. PSA was significantly correlated with the extent of skeletal metastases (R: 0.35) and the levels of hemoglobin (R: -0.19) and serum alkaline phosphatase (R: 0.30). In a multivariate Cox regression analysis the survival of the 152 patients was not correlated with the PSA level but with the patients performance status, the level of hemoglobin, and the time between primary hormone treatment and relapse. The lack of serum PSA to predict survival may be explained by a heterogeneous composition of hormone resistant prostate cancer as regards differentiated and/or PSA producing vs undifferentiated and/or PSA non-producing cells.