Korean J Urol.  2006 Apr;47(4):358-361. 10.4111/kju.2006.47.4.358.

Comparison of the Rate of Detecting Prostate Cancer and the Pathologic Characteristics of the Patients with a Serum PSA Level in the Range of 3.0 to 4.0ng/ml and the Patients with a Serum PSA Level in the Range 4.1 to 10.0ng/ml

• Park HK
• Hong SK
• Byun SS
• Lee SE

• KMID: 1997142
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4111/kju.2006.47.4.358

Abstract

PURPOSE
We prospectively evaluated the prostate cancer detection rate and pathologic characteristics of patients with a serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 3.0 to 4.0ng/ml and we compared this with the patients who had a PSA level in the range of 4.1 to 10.0ng/ml.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We analyzed the data of patients who had PSA levels of 3.0 to 10.0ng/ml, benign findings on digital rectal examination (DRE) and no specific lesion identified on transrectal ultrasound. The clinical characteristics, cancer detection rate and pathologic findings of the biopsy and prostatectomy specimen were compared between the low (3.0 to 4.0ng/ml) and intermediate (4.1 to 10.0ng/ml) PSA groups.
RESULTS
A total of 370 patients met our criteria and so they were included in the study. Sixty five and 305 patients had low or intermediate PSA levels, respectively. The mean age and the number of prostate biopsy cores were not different between the two groups. Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 26% of the low PSA group and in 20% of the intermediate PSA group. No significant difference was found between the two groups on the pathologic findings of the biopsy and on the pathology findings of the prostatectomy specimens, including the mean Gleason score, the percentage of patients with a Gleason score 7 or higher, the pathologic stage and the percentage of insignificant prostate cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
No statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of prostate cancer or pathological characteristics on comparison between the low and intermediate PSA groups. These results suggest that a lower PSA cutoff should be considered as an indication for a prostate biopsy in the Korean population.

Keyword

Prostate-specific antigen; Prostate cancer; Biopsy

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Digital Rectal Examination
Humans
Incidence
Neoplasm Grading
Pathology
Prospective Studies
Prostate*
Prostate-Specific Antigen
Prostatectomy
Prostatic Neoplasms*
Ultrasonography
Prostate-Specific Antigen

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