Correlation Between Serum Prostate Specific Antigen Level and Prostate Volume in a Community-based Cohort: Large-scale Screening of 35,223 Korean Men

A Simple Nomogram to Predict Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer at MRI-Guided Biopsy in Patients with Mild PSA Elevation and Normal DRE

BACKGROUND

Evidence to help avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies is being actively pursued. Our goal was to develop and internally validate a nomogram for predicting clinically significant prostate cancer (csPC) in men with low suspicion of disease (prostate specific antigen [PSA] < 10 ng/mL, normal digital rectal examination [DRE]), in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings are positive.

METHODS

Patients with no prior prostate cancer diagnosis who underwent MRI-ultrasound fusion biopsy of the prostate were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria were PSA < 10 ng/mL, normal DRE, Prostate Imaging Reporting And Data System (PIRADS) category ≥ 3, and no extraprostatic extension or seminal vesicle invasion reported on MRI. Associations between csPC diagnosis and patient or lesion characteristics were analyzed, and a multivariable model was developed. Internal validation of the model with 5-fold cross-validation and bootstrapping methods was performed.

RESULTS

Among 209 patients, 67 were diagnosed with csPC. Factors incorporated into the model for predicting csPC were age, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor use, PSA, prostate volume, PIRADS > 3, and lesion location in the peripheral zone. The model's ROC AUC was 0.86, with consistent performance at internal validation (0.84 with cross-validation, 0.82 with bootstrapping). With an empirical threshold of <10% csPC probability to omit biopsy, 72 (50.7%) unnecessary biopsies would have been avoided, at the cost of missing 2 (3.0%) csPC cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Our nomogram might serve as a valuable tool in refining selection criteria in men considered for prostate biopsy. The major limitation of the study is its retrospective character. Prospective, external validation of the model is warranted.

Relationship between serum prostate-specific antigen and transrectal prostate sonographic findings in asymptomatic Ugandan males

Background

Prostate disorders are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in men above the age of 40 years globally. Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels may be used to screen men at risk of prostate cancer and determine choice of medical treatment in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and evaluation of patients with prostatitis, while prostate sonography determines prostate volume (PV) and detects nodules. BPH may exhibit distinct hypoechoic, isoechoic, or hyperechoic nodules in the transition zone, whereas hypoechoic nodules in the peripheral zone are diagnostic for prostate cancer in over 50% of cases. In this study, we aimed at determining the relationship between serum PSA levels and transrectal prostate sonographic findings among asymptomatic Ugandan males.

Methods

Ugandan males above 30 years of age or older without lower urinary tract symptoms were cross-sectionally enrolled into the study. Serum PSA determination and transrectal ultrasound were performed. Association between PSA levels and PV was assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficients (ρ).

Results

A total of 277 men were studied. The median serum PSA level was 1 (95% CI: 1–2). Most (n = 217, 78.3%) participants had serum PSA levels ≤ 4 ng/ml. The median sonographic PV was 26 (95% CI: 26–29) mls. One hundred and fifty-five (56.0%) participants had PV between 25 and 50 mls. Both PSA levels and PV progressively increased with age from 0.9 ng/ml and 22 mls in the 30–39 year age group to 7 ng/ml and 38 mls in the 60–69 year age group, respectively. PSA levels weakly correlated with PV (ρ = 0.27) (p < 0.0001). One hundred and thirty (47%) participants had prostatic nodules. Of these, 100 (77%) had features of benign nodules and 23% had suspicious nodules for prostate cancer. The median (range) serum PSA level in those with nodules was 2.0 (0.1–16.0) ng/ml and for those without nodules was 1.1 (0.1–8.0) ng/ml (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Serum PSA has a weak direct correlation with PV and not a reliable marker for the prediction of presence or absence of prostatic nodules in asymptomatic adult males.

Predictors of ISUP score upgrade in patients with low-risk prostate cancer

INTRODUCTION

The literature contains few studies that focus on the relationship between International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) score upgrade and complete blood count (CBC) parameters for patients with low-risk prostate cancer and studies achieved inconclusive results.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed our institutional database for patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) between 1994 and 2017. In total, we included 633 patients with low-risk prostate cancer in the study. We investigated the effects of clinicopathologic factors on ISUP score upgrade. Moreover, we compared RP pathologic outcomes between the patients with and without ISUP score upgrade.

RESULTS

The mean age and follow-up periods were 61.09±6.61 years and 41.9±1.8 months, respectively. ISUP score upgrade was observed in 207 patients (32.7%). In multivariate analysis, high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density and percentage of positive cores were found to be significantly associated with ISUP score upgrade (p = 0.003 and p = 0.003, respectively). The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-lymphocyte ratio, and eosinophil-lymphocyte ratio were found to have no effect on ISUP score upgrade (p = 0.856, p = 0.353, p = 0.128, and p = 0.074, respectively). The percentage of tumors, surgical margin positivity, seminal vesicle invasion rate, and extraprostatic extension rate in RP pathology were higher in patients with ISUP score upgrade (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately one-third of the patients in our series had ISUP score upgrade in RP pathology. PSA density and the percentage of positive cores were found to be the factors significantly associated with ISUP score upgrade. CBC-related factors had no effect on ISUP score upgrade.

The relation between baseline PSA and symptomatic progression in Egyptian BPH patients receiving tamsulosin monotherapy: an exploratory multicentric prospective study

Background

To examine the relation of baseline serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) to symptomatic changes in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) receiving tamsulosin through its relation to changes in international prostate symptom score (IPSS) and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and the occurrence of acute urine retention (AUR).

Results

We conducted a multicentric prospective cohort study. BPH patients were included from May 2015 till January 2018. We collected IPSS recording, prostate volume (PV) Qmax. After 2 years of medical treatment with tamsulosin 0.4 mg once daily, full initial evaluation was repeated for all patients. Improvement in IPSS and Qmax was recorded and compared to initial PSA levels. Follow-up was aborted for patients who developed AUR. Moreover, the data of AUR patients were recorded and compared to initial PSA levels. The study included 437 Egyptian patients, and 414 patients (94.7%) had symptomatic improvement through the 2 years of follow-up on tamsulosin monotherapy. In total, 23 patients (5.3%) developed AUR during follow-up. There was a significant association between AUR and higher baseline PSA level (p < 0.001). On the other hand, statistical analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between baseline serum PSA and the improvement in IPSS (r = − 0.02, p = 0.684) or Qmax (r = − 0.06, p = 0.267). The multivariate analysis showed that baseline PSA and PV were independent predictors for AUR (p < 0.001 for both).

Conclusions

There was a significant relation between baseline PSA and incidence of AUR. However, there was no significant relationship between the serum PSA level and symptoms improvement in BPH.

Longitudinal changes in prostate volume in a community-based cohort study of middle-aged and elderly men in rural China

BACKGROUND

Prostate volume (PV) and its change rate are important for the progression of prostate disease, but studies on their estimates are inconsistent.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and other specific characteristics are associated with PV and its change rate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A community-based cohort study was conducted in a rural area of China among male residents aged 40-80 years. PV was estimated at baseline and at 4 years of follow-up by trans-abdominal ultrasound. Annual PV change rate (PVCR) was calculated as change in volume divided by time interval. Baseline characteristics, including age, serum PSA, and hormones, were evaluated. And their relationships with PV or PVCR were assessed with Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses.

RESULTS

Totally, 462 participants completed the follow-up with baseline PV (PV₀ ) of 15.6 ± 5.5 ml. PV₀ was highly correlated with age and PSA in pairwise correlations (Pearson r = 0.35 and 0.34, respectively, p < 0.01). Multivariate linear regression showed similar associations that PV₀ tended to increase with age and PSA. The average PVCR was 0.7 ± 1.8 ml/year. In pairwise correlations, PVCR was inversely correlated with PV₀ and positively correlated with PSA, while it was not significantly related to baseline age. Linear regression of PVCR on age and PSA in groups classified by PV₀ quartile showed that age was not a significant estimator of PVCR, whereas PSA was. In each PV₀ group, PVCR tended to increase with PSA.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

PV was positively associated with age and PSA, and it tended to grow faster in men with smaller baseline PV and higher PSA. PSA can be a valuable parameter for estimating both the size and the growth speed of prostate. Although age is associated with prostate enlargement, it does not appear to be related to the longitudinal change rate of PV.

Self-Normalized Detection of ANXA3 from Untreated Urine of Prostate Cancer Patients without Digital Rectal Examination

A noninvasive quantitative assay that is capable of identifying prostate cancer biomarkers in untreated urine is an attractive diagnosis tool, but this method is subject to various obstacles. Difficulties presented by untreated urine include varying salt concentrations, and pH levels that may be different even though they are from the same patient. Untreated urine also presents interference from other biomolecules and possesses a fewer number of cancer biomarkers than can be found in serum. As a result, urine preconditioning processes and digital rectal examination (DRE) to increase biomarker secretion are mandatory in current urine assays. To address these challenges, an ion-responsive urine sensor (IRUS) that measures differential electrical signals is proposed as a self-normalized detection method. The proposed IRUS is based on a FET biosensor with a disposable sensing gate and has the capability to detect the prostate cancer antigen ANXA3 in untreated patient urine. The IRUS can detect ANXA3 at <1 fg mL^-1 with high reliability. In addition, it is found that ANXA3 levels in urine show clinically significant correlation with real tumor volumes. This paper provides a guideline in developing a clinically ready accurate noninvasive platform, which is capable of predicting prostate cancer using untreated urine without DRE.

The association of benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract stones in adult men: A retrospective multicenter study

Objective

To examine the relationship between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and the presence of lower urinary tract stones.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the records of men with lower urinary tract stones who presented to three clinical centers in Korea over a 4-year period. We divided the patients into two groups based on the location of urinary stones: Group 1 (bladder calculi) and Group 2 (urethral calculi). We compared the characteristics of both groups and performed univariate and multivariate analyses with a logistic regression model to investigate the relationship between BPH and lower urinary tract stones.

Results

Of 221 patients, 194 (87.8%) had bladder calculi and 27 (12.2%) had urethral calculi. The mean age of Group 1 was higher than that of Group 2 (68.96 ± 12.11 years vs. 55.74 ± 14.20 years, p < 0.001). The mean prostate volume of Group 1 was higher than that of Group 2 (44.47 ± 27.14 mL vs. 24.70 ± 6.41 mL, respectively, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that age (OR = 1.075, 95%CI: 1.023-1.129) and prostate volume (OR = 1.069, 95%CI: 1.017-1.123) were independently associated with increased risk for bladder calculi. Upper urinary tract stones and/or hydronephrosis conferred a 3-fold risk for urethral calculi (OR = 3.468, 95%CI: 1.093-10.999).

Conclusion

Age and prostate volume are independent risk factors for bladder calculi. In addition, men with upper urinary tract disease are at greater risk for urethral calculi, which may migrate from the upper urinary tract rather than from the bladder.

Relationship of age, prostate-specific antigen, and prostate volume in Indonesian men with benign prostatic hyperplasia

BACKGROUND

To investigate the relationship between age, prostate specific antigen (PSA), and prostate volume (PV) in Indonesian men with histologically proven benign prostatic hyperplasia.

METHODS

Data were generated from our BPH database from June 1994 until December 2013. Subjects were men with a minimum age of 40 years with chief complaint of LUTS or urinary retention, diagnosed with BPH. All patients underwent TRUS-guided prostate biopsy. Patients with PSA level >10 ng/mL were excluded from the study to exclude the possibility of occult prostate cancer. PV was measured with TRUS. Appropriate statistical tests were employed for data analysis.

RESULTS

In all, 1638 patients were enrolled in our study. There was a statistically significant difference in PSA (P = 0.03) and PV (P < 0.0001) between age groups. Overall correlation between age, PSA, and PV were: i). Age and PV (r = 0.12, P < 0.0001); ii). Age and PSA (r = 0.07, P = 0.008); iii). PSA and PV (r = 0.26, P < 0.0001). Subgroup analysis in terms of indwelling catheter use versus without: i). Age 66.09 ± 8 years versus 65.38 ± 7.66 years (P = 0.158); ii). PSA 4.93 ± 2.62 ng/mL versus 4.68 ± 2.82 ng/mL (P = 0.038); iii). PV 47.58 ± 21.33 mL versus 41.43 ± 20.55 mL (P < 0.0001). Correlation between age, PSA, and PV in patients were similar in patients with and without indwelling catheter.

CONCLUSION

In Indonesian men with biopsy-proven BPH, both PV and PSA increased with ageing. Prostate volume was significantly correlated with PSA. Even though the results were weaker, these results are consistent with results in other sets of population. The results vary between different countries and thus, ethnicities. Indonesia is a populous a sociocultural and ethnically diverse country. Therefore, aside from PSA, age, and PV, when investigating men with BPH, ethnicity may also need to be taken into account.