We evaluated and compared five commercial radioimmunoassay kits with a standard counter-immunoelectrophoretic assay for the measurement of prostatic acid phosphatase in serum. Four of the five radioimmunoassays performed as described by the supplier with respect to sensitivity, stability, precision, linearity, analytical recovery, and expected values for the normal male population. None of the radioimmunoassays was more clinically sensitive then the counter-immunoelectrophoretic assay for detecting increased prostatic acid phosphatase in serum. Results obtained by counter-immunoelectrophoretic assay agreed with results obtained by radioimmunoassay in 96% of the tests. The proportion of positive results in patients with confirmed prostatic adenocarcinoma increased with disease progression. The fewer positive tests in localized adenocarcinoma (Stages A and B) suggests that neither the counter-immunoelectrophoretic assay nor the radioimmunoassay procedures are useful for screening unselected populations for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The high percentage of normal values found in those patients clinically free of disease after treatment is encouraging and supports the use of the prostatic acid phosphatase immunoassays in prospectively monitoring the treatment of prostatic cancer patients.