Comparability of serum prostate-specific antigen measurement between the Hybritech Tandem-R and Abbott AxSYM assays

Objectives. To assess the comparability of the Hybritech Tandem-R and Abbott AxSYM PSA assays in the setting of a hospital laboratory changing methods of PSA assay. Methods. A total of 115 serum samples were tested simultaneously with both reagent kits. These include samples from patients evaluated for screening, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and follow-up of prostate cancer. Results. The outcomes of the Hybritech Tandem-R PSA test ranged from 0.0 to 48.3 ng/mL with a median value of 2.4 ng/mL (mean 3.48, SD 5.46). The outcomes of the Abbott AxSYM PSA test ranged from 0.0 to 49.33 ng/mL with a median of 2.22 ng/mL (mean 3.82, SD 5.59). The outcomes of the two assays were found to be highly correlated by the Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.9942). When samples were divided according to PSA levels of 0.0 to less than 2.5, 2.5 to less than 4.0, 4.0 to less than 10.0, and 10.0 to less than 25.0 ng/mL, the outcomes were also highly correlated in all PSA level ranges (r = 0.9619, 0.8094, 0.9167, and 0.9081, respectively). Conclusions. The PSA values of the Tandem-R and Abbott AxSYM assays are highly correlated in the PSA level ranges of 0.0 to less than 2.5, 2.5 to less than 4.0, 4.0 to less than 10.0, and 10.0 to less than 25.0 ng/mL.