[2] Different forms of acid phosphatase are found in different organs, and their serum levels are used to evaluate the success of the surgical treatment of prostate cancer.

It is also used as a cytogenetic marker to distinguish the two different lineages of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) : B-ALL (a leukemia of B lymphocytes) is acid-phosphatase negative, T-ALL (originating instead from T Lymphocytes) is acid-phosphatase positive.

An assay on the rates of activity of these enzymes may be used to ascertain biological demand for phosphates in the soil.

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase may be used as a biochemical marker of osteoclast function during the process of bone resorption.

[3] The following genes encode the polypeptide components for various acid phosphatase isoenzymes:[citation needed]