Routine alkaline phosphatase and bone specific alkaline phosphatase

[dress2544]

Hi friends,

I use to do liver function test every month to know the liver enzymes value as I am on zytiga and Prednisone for the last fifteen months. My alkaline phosphatase level is well within normal range. My present PSA is 0.77. Should I go for a bone specific alkaline phosphatase test. Is there any chance for the bone specific alkaline phosphatase level to be higher when the normal liver function test alkaline phosphatase level is normal. I am thinking in this way only because I have feeling of pain in my right buttock and right knee for the last two months. My MO says it is only a muscle pain and no need to worry. Bone specific alkaline phosphatase test has any relevance at this point. Your thoughts on this will be truly helpful for me.

[Hidden]

My opinion is that it is not necessary. Its unlikely that you would see an increase there and not with the non-bone specific Alk Phos blood test.

[dress2544 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Gregg for the reply.

[dress2544]

Thanks Bill. I am 63. I asked my MO whether this pain is due to arthritis. His opinion is that as my ESR is quite low, my suspicion is baseless.

[Hidden in reply to dress2544]

As far as I know, ESR is a non-specific indicator for inflammation and is not diagnostic for osteoarthritis. There might be other reasons why your doctor doesn't think you have it, but I disagree that ESR is diagnostic for osteoarthritis.

[dress2544 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Gregg for sharing your knowledge. I think you are right. I had been on elegard for about 20 months and there after underwent orchiectomy. For the last 15 months I am on zytiga and Prednisone.Maybe thse treatmentscan be a reason for osteoarthritis. Is there any confirmatory test for osteoarthritis? I hope you can advise me. Thank you once again.

[Hidden in reply to dress2544]

I just had a flair-up myself. My left knee was suddenly hurting and I immediately suspected something cancer-related. I went in and had x-rays taken. They called me a couple days later, telling me I had osteoarthritis. It can be seen on an x-ray, that's the main way it's diagnosed. When they told me I was so relieved. It was funny, I told them I was so happy to hear that. Then I had to explain why.

The next day my neighbor told me how he suddenly had pain in his left knee. Same thing. It is effected by the change in the seasons with the colder weather. You might have something else, you just have to have it checked outand find out. Hope everything turns out OK.

[dress2544 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Gregg once again.

[ctarleton in reply to Hidden]

"I just had a flair-up myself"... Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. That has to be the Lupron talking, Gregg. I'm sure you meant to type "flare-up". Freudian typo, perhaps?

[Hidden in reply to ctarleton]

I think it's all the fires out here that are making everything into flairs.

[Mathes72 in reply to Hidden]

It 's a bitch getting old

[j-o-h-n in reply to Mathes72]

yep and it sucks too....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 11/22/2018 10:04 PM EST

[dress2544 in reply to j-o-h-n]

Thanks j-o-h-n. Good health and good luck!

[fritz1 in reply to Hidden]

So much to learn from this site. Never heard of ESR. I’m sure others here haven’t either. So for the curious... labtestsonline.org/tests/er...

[EdBar]

Aches and pains from ADT are a common side effect, I certainly have my share and always worry a little when I get a new one.

I have my Alka Phos - bone specific tested monthly. When I was being treated by Dr. Myers he said that the most important blood tests to monitor are PSA, Alka Phos, testosterone and total testosterone. Keep in mind I was diagnosed with multiple mets back in 2014, currently they seem to have been beaten down into a state of dormancy. I like to keep an close eye on them for any signs of them waking.

Ed

[dress2544 in reply to EdBar]

I wish to know whether Dr Myers insisted for a monthly a "bone specific alkaline phosphatase" or a simple non-bone specific alkaline phosphatase blood test. Did you find that both these values are proportional. I mean when a bone specific alkaline phosphatase is higher, the non-bone specific alkaline phosphatase will be also higher. Hope to hear from you.

Thanks for your reply.

[EdBar]

I have both tests done monthly however the bone specific alkaline phosphatase is the one that relates to bone issues. Alka Phos is found throughout the body, a bone specific Alka Phos test is performed to see if there is any abnormal levels of bone growth. I’m not sure if both would be proportional but it seems that the standard test would pick up Alka Phos from bone issues too so it seems likely both would be high.

Hope that helps.

Ed

[dress2544 in reply to EdBar]

Thank you EdBar for sharing your knowledge. It helps. Actually I use to test only non-bone specific alkaline phosphatase only. Now onwards I will test bone specific alkaline phosphatase also. Thanks again.