The role of the digital rectal examination in subsequent screening visits in the European randomized study of screening for prostate cancer (ERSPC), Rotterdam

A cross-sectional study of ERG expression and the relationship with clinicopathological features of Prostate cancer in Southwestern Uganda

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death and the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in Uganda and most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene is the most common genetic alteration seen among prostate cancer patients. There are several contradicting reports about the association of ERG protein with poor prognosis, high PSA, and Gleason score. This study determined the prevalence of ERG expression and the relationship with PSA, Gleason score, and Age of prostate cancer patients in Southwestern Uganda.

METHODS

We reviewed 130 archived prostate biopsy (needle and TURP) specimens from patients of age ≥ 50 years who had a histological diagnosis of prostate cancer. We obtained their biodata, and preoperative PSA, from the archived records. We did Immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine the prevalence of ERG expression.

RESULTS

The mean patient age in our study was 74.64 ± 10.19 years. Pre-operative PSA levels had been done for 79.2% of the participants. Most cancers (58.46%) were of high grade (grade group 3-5). ERG expression prevalence was 75.4% and its expression was independent of age, re-operative PSA, and Gleason score.

CONCLUSION

There is a significantly higher prevalence of ERG expression in our study compared to what is reported in other African-based studies. The expression of the ERG is independent of age, Gleason score, and serum PSA levels. A high proportion of our prostate cancer has high-grade disease at the time of diagnosis.

Predictors of Metastasis in 68GA-Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen Pet-CT in the Primary Staging of Prostate Cancer

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate factors influencing Gallium 68 Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography (Ga68 PSMA PET-CT) uptake for primary staging in prostate cancer. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on 499 non-metastatic and 243 de novo metastatic prostate cancer cases undergoing Ga68 PSMA PET-CT. Demographic, clinical, and imaging data were collected and analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression determined independent risk factors for metastasis detection on Ga68 PSMA PET-CT. Results: Metastatic cases showed higher levels of total PSA, PSA density (dPSA) and biopsy ISUP grade group compared to non-metastatic cases. Multivariate analysis identified cT2 stage and dPSA as independent predictors of metastasis detection on Ga68 PSMA PET-CT. Conclusions: Ga68 PSMA PET-CT plays a crucial role in prostate cancer staging, with identified factors such as clinical T stage and dPSA significantly impacting its diagnostic accuracy. These findings underscore the importance of Ga68 PSMA PET-CT in refining clinical staging and guiding treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients.

Evaluation of miR-148a-3p and miR-106a-5p as Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer: Pilot Study

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that may function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. Alteration of their expression levels has been linked to a range of human malignancies, including cancer. The objective of this investigation is to assess the relative expression levels of certain miRNAs to distinguish between prostate cancer (PCa) from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Blood plasma was collected from 66 patients diagnosed with BPH and 58 patients with PCa. Real-time PCR technology was used to evaluate the relative expression among the two groups for miR-106a-5p and miR-148a-3p. The significant downregulation of both miRNAs in plasma from PCa versus BPH patients suggests their potential utility as diagnostic biomarkers for distinguishing between these conditions. The concurrent utilization of these two miRNAs slightly enhanced the sensitivity for discrimination among the two analyzed groups, as shown in ROC curve analysis. Further validation of these miRNAs in larger patient cohorts and across different stages of PCa may strengthen their candidacy as clinically relevant biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis.

Prostate Cancer Foundation Screening Guidelines for Black Men in the United States

BACKGROUND

In the United States, Black men are at highest risk for being diagnosed with and dying from prostate cancer. Given this disparity, we examined relevant data to establish clinical prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening guidelines for Black men in the United States.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search identified 1848 unique publications for screening. Of those screened, 287 studies were selected for full-text review, and 264 were considered relevant and form the basis for these guidelines. The numbers were reported according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines.

RESULTS

Three randomized controlled trials provided Level 1 evidence that regular PSA screening of men 50 to 74 years of age of average risk reduced metastasis and prostate cancer death at 16 to 22 years of follow-up. The best available evidence specifically for Black men comes from observational and modeling studies that consider age to obtain a baseline PSA, frequency of testing, and age when screening should end. Cohort studies suggest that discussions about baseline PSA testing between Black men and their clinicians should begin in the early 40s, and data from modeling studies indicate prostate cancer develops 3 to 9 years earlier in Black men compared with non-Black men. Lowering the age for baseline PSA testing to 40 to 45 years of age from 50 to 55 years of age, followed by regular screening until 70 years of age (informed by PSA values and health factors), could reduce prostate cancer mortality in Black men (approximately 30% relative risk reduction) without substantially increasing overdiagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

These guidelines recommend that Black men should obtain information about PSA screening for prostate cancer. Among Black men who elect screening, baseline PSA testing should occur between ages 40 and 45. Depending on PSA value and health status, annual screening should be strongly considered. (Supported by the Prostate Cancer Foundation.).

PSA-density, DRE, and PI-RADS 5: potential surrogates for omitting biopsy?

OBJECTIVE

In contrast to other malignancies, histologic confirmation prior treatment in patients with a high suspicion of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCA) is common. To analyze the impact of extracapsular extension (ECE), cT-stage defined by digital rectal examination (DRE), and PSA-density (PSA-D) on detection of csPCA in patients with at least one PI-RADS 5 lesion (hereinafter, "PI-RADS 5 patients").

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PI-RADS 5 patients who underwent MRI/Ultrasound fusion biopsy (Bx) between 2016 and 2020 were identified in our institutional database. Uni- and multivariable logistic-regression models were used to identify predictors of csPCA-detection (GGG ≥ 2). Risk models were adjusted for ECE, PSA-D, and cT-stage. Corresponding Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated.

RESULTS

Among 493 consecutive PI-RADS 5 patients, the median age and PSA was 69 years (IQR 63-74) and 8.9 ng/ml (IQR 6.0-13.7), respectively. CsPCA (GGG ≥ 2) was detected in 405/493 (82%); 36/493 patients (7%) had no cancer. When tabulating for PSA-D of > 0.2 ng/ml/cc and > 0.5 ng/ml/cc, csPCA was found in 228/253 (90%, PI-RADS5 + PSA-D > 0.2 ng/ml/cc) and 54/54 (100%, PI-RADS5 + PSA-D > 0.5 ng/ml/cc). Finally, a model incorporating PSA-D and cT-stage achieved an AUC of 0.79 (CI 0.74-0.83).

CONCLUSION

In PI-RADS 5 patients, PSA-D and cT-stage emerged as strong predictors of csPCA at biopsy. Moreover, when adding the threshold of PSA-D > 0,5 ng/ml/cc, all PI-RADS 5 patients were diagnosed with csPCA. Therefore, straight treatment for PCA can be considered, especially if risk-factors for biopsy-related complications such as obligatory dual platelet inhibition are present.

Developments in Dedicated Prostate PET Instrumentation

This article summarizes the evolution of dedicated prostate PET instrumentation. It starts by introducing prostate cancer, as well as the most common diagnostic and staging methods that are used in the clinics. Then, it describes the key aspects of PET detectors and their assembly in full PET scanners highlighting the most suitable geometries for prostate examination, and a review on the existing prostate dedicated PET. Finally, the next steps for extending the use of PET in the daily diagnose, staging, and image-guided biopsy of patients with prostate cancer are discussed.

Prostate cancer in transgender women: considerations for screening, diagnosis and management

Transgender individuals represent 0.55% of the US population, equivalent to 1.4 million transgender adults. In transgender women, feminisation can include a number of medical and surgical interventions. The main goal is to deprive the phenotypically masculine body of androgens and simultaneously provide oestrogen therapy for feminisation. In gender-confirming surgery (GCS) for transgender females, the prostate is usually not removed. Due to limitations of existing cohort studies, the true incidence of prostate cancer in transgender females is unknown but is thought to be less than the incidence among cis-gender males. It is unclear how prostate cancer develops in androgen-deprived conditions in these patients. Six out of eleven case reports in the literature presented with metastatic disease. It is thought that androgen receptor-mediated mechanisms or tumour-promoting effects of oestrogen may be responsible. Due to the low incidence of prostate cancer identified in transgender women, there is little evidence to drive specific screening recommendations in this patient subpopulation. The treatment of early and locally advanced prostate cancer in these patients warrants an individualised thoughtful approach with input from patients' reconstructive surgeons. Both surgical and radiation treatment for prostate cancer in these patients can profoundly impact the patient's quality of life. In this review, we discuss the evidence surrounding screening and treatment of prostate cancer in transgender women and consider the current gaps in our knowledge in providing evidence-based guidance at the molecular, genomic and epidemiological level, for clinical decision-making in the management of these patients.

Pharmacokinetic modeling of PSMA-targeted nanobubbles for quantification of extravasation and binding in mice models of prostate cancer

PURPOSE

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) by injection of microbubbles (MBs) has shown promise as a cost-effective imaging modality for prostate cancer (PCa) detection. More recently, nanobubbles (NBs) have been proposed as novel ultrasound contrast agents. Unlike MBs, which are intravascular ultrasound contrast agents, the smaller diameter of NBs allows them to cross the vessel wall and target specific receptors on cancer cells such as the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). It has been demonstrated that PSMA-targeted NBs can bind to the receptors of PCa cells and show a prolonged retention effect in dual-tumor mice models. However, the analysis of the prolonged retention effect has so far been limited to qualitative or semi-quantitative approaches.

METHODS

This work introduces two pharmacokinetics models for quantitative analysis of time-intensity curves (TICs) obtained from the CEUS loops. The first model is based on describing the vascular input by the modified local density random walk (mLDRW) model and independently interprets TICs from each tumor lesion. Differently, the second model is based on the reference-tissue model, previously proposed in the context of nuclear imaging, and describes the binding kinetics of an indicator in a target tissue by using a reference tissue where binding does not occur.

RESULTS

Our results show that four estimated parameters, β,β / λ $\beta /\lambda $ ,β + / β - ${\beta }_ + /{\beta }_ - $ , for the mLDRW-input model, and γ for the reference-based model, were significantly different (p-value <0.05) between free NBs and PSMA-NBs. These parameters estimated by the two models demonstrate different behaviors between PSMA-targeted and free NBs.

CONCLUSIONS

These promising results encourage further quantitative analysis of targeted NBs for improved cancer diagnostics and characterization.

Hypoehoic lesions on Transrectal Ultrasound and its correlation to Gleason grade in the diagnosis of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Study

Context The importance of hypoechoic lesions on transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) merits re-assessment in the present era of widespread prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.

Aims We aimed to investigate the predictive accuracy of hypoechoic lesions on TRUS of prostate in the diagnosis of prostate cancer and to examine the association of hypoechoic lesions with the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.

Settings and Design This prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care center in South India from November 2017 to December 2019.

Methods and Material We included 151 patients undergoing TRUS-guided 12-core prostate biopsy in view of raised serum PSA with or without suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE) findings in the study. Age, DRE findings, serum PSA level, TRUS findings, and histopathology reports were documented. These were compared between patients with and without hypoechoic lesions on TRUS.

Statistical Analysis Used The statistical analysis for this study was performed using SPSS v20.0 software.

Results Among 151 men, prostate cancer was diagnosed in 68 (45.03%) with mean age at presentation 69.81 ± 6.49 years. Fifty-eight cases (38.41%) had hypoechoic lesion on TRUS and the cancer detection rate (68.96%) amongst this group was significantly higher than in those without hypoechoic lesion ( p <0.0001). Patients with hypoechoic lesion were more likely to have higher grade cancer. Abnormal DRE findings and hypoechoic lesion on TRUS were independent predictors of a clinically significant cancer ( p <0.05).

Conclusion Hypoechoic lesion on TRUS can be considered as an indicator of clinically significant prostate cancer.

Outcomes of active surveillance for clinically localized prostate cancer in a middle eastern tertiary care center

BACKGROUND

The aim of our study was to evaluate the outcome of active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer for a cohort of patients at our institution.

METHODS

A total of 43 patients with low risk prostate cancer were enrolled in an active surveillance pilot program at our institution between 2008 and 2018. Follow up protocols included: periodic prostate specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination (DRE), multiparametric MRI, and prostate biopsy at one year. Pertinent parameters were collected, and descriptive statistics were reported along with a subset analysis of patients that dropped out of the protocol to receive active treatment for disease progression.

RESULTS

Out of 43 eligible patients, 46.5% had a significant rise in follow up PSA. DRE was initially suspicious in 27.9% of patients, and none had any change in DRE on follow up. Initially, prostate MRIs showed PIRADS 3, 4, and 5 in 14%, 37.2%, and 11.6% respectively, while 23.2% had a negative initial MRI. 14% did not have an MRI. Upon follow up, 18.6% of patients had progression on MRI. Initial biopsies revealed that 86% were classified as WHO group 1, while 14% as WHO group 2. With regards to the follow up biopsies, 11.6% were upgraded. 20.9% of our patients had active treatment; 44.4% due to upgraded biopsy results, 22.2% due to PSA progression, 22.2% due to strong patient preference, and 11.1% due to radiologic progression.

CONCLUSIONS

For selected men with low risk prostate cancer, AS is a reasonable alternative. The decision for active treatment should be tailored upon changes in PSA, DRE, MRI, and biopsy results.

The prognostic value of digital rectal exam for the existence of advanced pathologic features after prostatectomy

BACKGROUND

Accurate staging at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis is fundamental to risk stratification and management counseling. Digital rectal exam (DRE) is foundational in clinical staging of prostate cancer, even with a known limited interexaminer agreement and poor sensitivity for detecting extraprostatic disease. We sought to evaluate the prognostic value of DRE for the presence of advanced pathologic features (APFs) following radical prostatectomy (RP).

METHODS

All patients undergoing RP as primary treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer in the National Cancer Database between 2008 and 2014 were identified. Patients with additional malignancies, prior treatment with radiation or systemic therapy, incongruent clinical staging and DRE findings or without fully evaluable clinical staging were excluded. The primary outcome was the presence of postsurgical APFs, defined as positive surgical margins, nodal disease, or pathologic stage T3 or greater. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to account for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), biopsy grade group, percent of positive biopsy cores, and clinical stage.

RESULTS

In total, 91,525 patients consisting of 69,182 cT1, 20,641 cT2, and 1702 cT3-T4 were included. The average age was 61.1 ± 7.0 years, and the average PSA was 8.6 ± 10.3 ng/ml. On multivariable analysis, cT3 and T4 were associated with the presence of APFs (odds ratio [OR] 11.12, p < .01 and 5.28, p = .04), however, cT2 was only slightly associated with the presence of APFs when compared with cT1 (OR 1.15, p < .01). Furthermore, cT2 was associated with more node-positive disease (OR 1.63, p < .01), positive margins (OR 1.06, p < .01), and more than or equal to pT3 disease (OR 1.22, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, advanced clinical stage as assessed by DRE was independently associated with an increasing risk of APFs. For individual APFs, the greatest effect is noticed between clinical stage and nodal positivity and less so between clinical stage and positive margins. DRE continues to hold value, particularly for patients with locally advanced disease and potential lymph node disease.

Optimal PSA Threshold for Obtaining MRI-Fusion Biopsy in Biopsy-Naïve Patients

OBJECTIVE

The study investigates the prostate-specific antigen threshold for adding targeted, software-based, magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion biopsy during a standard 12-core biopsy in biopsy-naïve patients. It secondarily explores whether the targeted biopsy is necessary in setting of abnormal digital rectal examination.

METHODS

260 patients with suspected localized prostate cancer with no prior biopsy underwent prostate magnetic resonance imaging and were found to have Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System score ≥ 3 lesion(s). All 260 patients underwent standard 12-core biopsy and targeted biopsy during the same session. Clinically significant cancer was Gleason ≥3 + 4.

RESULTS

Percentages of patients with prostate-specific antigen 0-1.99, 2-3.99, 4-4.99, 5-5.99, 6-9.99, and ≥10 were 3.0%, 4.7%, 20.8%, 16.9%, 37.7%, and 16.9%, respectively. Cumulative frequency of clinically significant prostate cancer increased with the addition of targeted biopsy compared with standard biopsy alone across all prostate-specific antigen ranges. The difference in clinically significant cancer detection between targeted plus standard biopsy compared to standard biopsy alone becomes statistically significant at prostate-specific antigen >4.3 (p=0.031). At this threshold, combination biopsy detected 20 clinically significant prostate cancers, while standard detected 14 with 88% sensitivity and 20% specificity. Excluding targeted biopsy in setting of a positive digital rectal exam would save 12.3% magnetic resonance imaging and miss 1.8% clinically significant cancers in our cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

In biopsy-naïve patients, at prostate-specific antigen >4.3, there is a significant increase in clinically significant prostate cancer detection when targeted biopsy is added to standard biopsy. Obtaining standard biopsy alone in patients with abnormal digital rectal examinations would miss 1.8% clinically significant cancers in our cohort.

Does a screening digital rectal exam provide actionable clinical utility in patients with an elevated PSA and positive MRI?

Objective

To define the value of a digital rectal exam (DRE) in the prostate‐magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) era. Prostate MRI is increasingly used in men with elevated prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) prior to biopsy.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed in men with elevated PSA undergoing MRI followed by MRI fusion with systematic biopsy and men with elevated PSA/active surveillance with negative MRI followed by biopsy. Baseline clinicopathologic characteristics and DRE findings were collected. We examined performance of a positive DRE on sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPC).

Results

A total of 339 patients had elevated PSA and positive MRI followed by MRI fusion guided with systematic biopsy. Pre‐biopsy DRE was documented in 286/339 patients, who were included in further analysis. About 81.6% positive, 78.7% questionable, and 55.8% negative DRE patients had CSPC. Positive DRE had 21.8% sensitivity and 91.3% specificity for CSPC. Positive or questionable DRE had 42.1% sensitivity and 81.5% specificity. Among 148 men with non‐CSPC (GG1)‐targeted biopsy, 28 had systematic biopsy with CSPC. About 5/28 had positive DRE and 8/28 had positive or questionable DRE. Twenty‐seven patients were included who had elevated PSA/on active surveillance with negative MRI and biopsy done within 2 years. About 77.8% had negative, 7.4% had questionable, and 14.8% men had positive DRE. About 7.4% had CSPC and all had a negative DRE.

Conclusions

Our study provides limited evidence for the value of a DRE. However, it does show occasional benefit in detecting GG2 or higher disease and given the lack of cost and side effects, should still be considered.

Clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer using digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests: a systematic review and meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity

Background

Being diagnosed with cancer, irrespective of type initiates a serious psychological concern. The increasing rate of detection of indolent prostate cancers is a source of worry to public health. Digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests are the commonly used prostate cancer screening tests. Understanding the diagnostic accuracies of these tests may provide clearer pictures of their characteristics and values in prostate cancer diagnosis. This review compared the sensitivities and specificities of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen test in detection of clinically important prostate cancers using studies from wider population.

Main body

We conducted literature search in PubMed, Medline, Science Direct, Wiley Online, CINAHL, Scopus, AJOL and Google Scholar, using key words and Boolean operators. Studies comparing the sensitivity and specificity of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests in men 40 years and above, using biopsy as reference standard were retrieved. Data were extracted and analysed using Review manager (RevMan 5.3) statistical software. The overall quality of the studies was good, and heterogeneity was observed across the studies. The result comparatively shows that prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity (P < 0.00001, RR 0.74, CI 0.67–0.83) and specificity (P < 0.00001, RR 1.81, CI 1.54–2.12) in the detection of prostate cancers than digital rectal examination.

Conclusion

Prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting prostate cancers from men of multiple ethnic origins. However, combination of prostate-specific antigen test and standardized digital rectal examination procedure, along with patients history, may improve the accuracy and minimize over-diagnoses of indolent prostate cancers.

Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Patients with Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) in the Gray Area: Construction of 2 Predictive Models

Background

Two diagnostic models of prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer (CS-PCa) were established using clinical data of among patients whose prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are in the gray area (4.0–10.0 ng/ml).

Material/Methods

Data from 181 patients whose PSA levels were in the gray area were retrospectively analyzed, and the following data were collected: age, digital rectal examination, total PSA, PSA density (PSAD), free/total PSA (f/t PSA), transrectal ultrasound, multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI), and pathological reports. Patients were diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and PCa by pathology reports, and PCa patients were separated into non-clinically significant PCa (NCS-PCa) and CS-PCa by Gleason score. Afterward, predictor models constructed by above parameters were researched to diagnose PCa and CS-PCa, respectively.

Results

According to the analysis of included clinical data, there were 109 patients with BPH, 44 patients with NCS-PCa, and 28 patients with CS-PCa. Regression analysis showed PCa was correlated with f/t PSA, PSAD, and mpMRI (P<0.01), and CS-PCa was correlated with PSAD and mpMRI (P<0.01). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 2 models for PCa (sensitivity=73.64%, specificity=64.23%) and for CS-PCa (sensitivity=71.41%, specificity=81.82%) were 0.79 and 0.87, respectively.

Conclusions

The prediction models had satisfactory diagnostic value for PCa and CS-PCa among patients with PSA in the gray area, and use of these models may help reduce overdiagnosis.

Advancement and properties of circular RNAs in prostate cancer: An emerging and compelling frontier for discovering

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common carcinoma among men worldwide which results in 26% of leading causes of cancer-related death. However, the ideal and effective molecular marker remains elusive. CircRNA, initially observed in plant-infected viruses and Sendai virus in 1979, is generated from pre-mRNA back-splicing and comes in to play by adequate expression. The differential expression in prostate tissues compared with the control reveals the promising capacity in modulating processes including carcinogenesis and metastasis. However, the biological mechanisms of regulatory network in PC needs to systemically concluded. In this review, we enlightened the comprehensive studies on the definite mechanisms of circRNAs affecting tumor progression and metastasis. What's more, we validated the potential clinical application of circRNAs serving as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The discussion and analysis in circRNAs will broaden our knowledge of the pathogenesis of PC and further optimize the current therapies against different condition.

The additive value of mpMRI on prostate cancer detection: Comparison between patients with and without a suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE)

PURPOSE

Diagnosis of prostate cancer (CaP) is based on digital rectal examination (DRE) and/or elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) level. This approach lacks sensitivity and specificity and is associated with many negative biopsies, high rate of diagnosing clinically insignificant disease and lacks accuracy to predict clinically significant (CS) cancer. The addition of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) before prostate biopsy reduces the detection of low-grade tumors while improving the detection of CS CaP. Most studies that evaluated mpMRI performance did not separate the DRE status of the examined patients. Therefore, the aim of our study is to investigate whether mpMRI provides similar advantages in detection of CaP according to the DRE findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This prospective study included patients with clinically suspected CaP that were referred to MRI-fusion biopsy from 2014 to 2019. All patients had mpMRI of the prostate with an index lesion of PIRADS ≥3. Analysis was done comparing systemic and targeted biopsy. Patients were divided into two groups according to the DRE findings (positive or negative DRE) and the primary outcomes were compared between the 2 study groups: detection rate of CaP and the detection rate of CS disease defined as Gleason score ≥ 7.

RESULTS

The final study cohort included 86 patients: 47 with negative DRE and 39 with positive DRE. Overall cancer detection rate was higher in patients with a positive DRE (70.3% vs 48.9%, P <0.05). In the region of interest a higher overall detection rate and of CS disease was found in those with abnormal DRE (51.3% vs. 40.4% and 48.6% vs. 34.0% respectively). The systematic biopsy analysis showed an overall lower detection rate in the negative DRE group (8.5% vs. 18.9 %). The targeted biopsies detected more cancer and significant tumors per core in patients with positive DRE (29.2% vs. 18.5% and 22.1% vs. 14.5% respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients submitted to fusion biopsy and have a positive DRE are diagnosed more often with CaP, have higher grade disease and larger tumors. In patients suspicious for CaP and having a significant lesion on mpMRI one should combine targeted and systematic biopsy regardless of the DRE status.

A novel screening strategy for clinically significant prostate cancer in elderly men over 75 years of age

A standard modality for prostate cancer detection in men 75 years and older has not been established. A simple screening method for elderly patients is needed to avoid unnecessary biopsies and to effectively diagnose prostate cancer. A retrospective study was conducted on elderly patients who had prostate biopsy at Kanazawa University Hospital (Kanazawa, Japan) between 2000 and 2017. Of the 2251 patients who underwent prostate biopsy, 254 had clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPC) with a Gleason score (GS) of≥7 and 273 had a GS of <7 or no malignancy. In this study, patients aged 75 years or older were classified as elderly patients. GS ≥ 7 was characterized by a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of the maximum area under the curve of 12 ng ml^-1 with a sensitivity of 76.2% and a specificity of 73.2%. For PSA levels between 4 ng ml^-1 and 12 ng ml^-1, based on the maximum area under the curve, patients with three or four of the following factors may present a GS of ≥ 7: percent free PSA >24, PSA density≥ 0.24 ng ml^-2, positive findings on digital rectal examination, and transrectal with 90.0% sensitivity and 67.4% specificity. In this study, we found that raising the PSA cutoff to 12 ng ml^-1 for CSPC in elderly individuals can significantly reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies. Furthermore, CSPC could be efficiently discovered by combining the four supplementary markers in patients with a PSA level of 4-12 ng ml^-1. By performing this screening for elderly men over 75 years of age, unnecessary biopsies may be reduced and CSPC may be detected efficiently.

Clinical proteomics for prostate cancer: understanding prostate cancer pathology and protein biomarkers for improved disease management

Following the introduction of routine Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening in the early 1990′s, Prostate Cancer (PCa) is often detected at an early stage. There are also a growing number of treatment options available and so the associated mortality rate is generally low. However, PCa is an extremely complex and heterogenous disease and many patients suffer disease recurrence following initial therapy. Disease recurrence commonly results in metastasis and metastatic PCa has an average survival rate of just 3–5 years. A significant problem in the clinical management of PCa is being able to differentiate between patients who will respond to standard therapies and those who may benefit from more aggressive intervention at an earlier stage. It is also acknowledged that for many men the disease is not life threatenting. Hence, there is a growing desire to identify patients who can be spared the significant side effects associated with PCa treatment until such time (if ever) their disease progresses to the point where treatment is required. To these important clinical needs, current biomarkers and clinical methods for patient stratification and personlised treatment are insufficient. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the complexities of PCa pathology and disease management. In this context it is possible to review current biomarkers and proteomic technologies that will support development of biomarker-driven decision tools to meet current important clinical needs. With such an in-depth understanding of disease pathology, the development of novel clinical biomarkers can proceed in an efficient and effective manner, such that they have a better chance of improving patient outcomes.

PSA Based Biomarkers, Imagistic Techniques and Combined Tests for a Better Diagnostic of Localized Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer represents the most encountered urinary malignancy in males over 50 years old, and the second most diagnosed after lung cancer globally. Digital rectal examination and prostatic specific antigen were the long-time standard tools for diagnosis but with a significant risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Magnetic resonance imaging recently entered the diagnosis process, but to this date, there is no specific biomarker that accurately indicates whether to proceed with the prostate biopsy. Research in this area has gone towards this direction, and recently, serum, urine, imagistic, tissue biomarkers, and Risk Calculators promise to help better diagnose and stratify prostate cancer. In order to eliminate the comorbidities that appear along with the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, there is a constant need to implement new diagnostic strategies. Important uro-oncology associations recommend the use of novel biomarkers in the grey area of prostate cancer, to better distinguish the next step in the diagnostic process. Although it is not that simple, they should be integrated according to the clinical policies, and it should be considered that statistical significance does not always equal clinical significance. In this review, we analyzed the contribution of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based biomarkers (PHI, PHID, 4Kscore, STHLM3), imagistic techniques (mp-MRI and mp-US), and combined tests in the early diagnosis process of localized prostate cancer.

[Study of anogenital distance as a diagnostic tool for prostate cancer]

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

The distance from the genitals to the anus (anogenital distance [AGD]) reflects androgen concentration during prenatal development in mammals. At the present time, there is only one study suggesting the relationship between AGD and risk of prostate cancer (CaP). The goal of this study was to assess the performance and clinical utility of AGD, as a biomarker of prenatal androgenic milieu, and risk of CaP in a larger population, in CaP diagnosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A case-control study was conducted on 260 men seen in a hospital outpatient clinic where underwent a physical and andrological examination and completed a brief questionnaire. CaP patients were confirmed by biopsy of the tumor. Controls were men without CaP seen in the urology outpatient clinic for routine examinations. Two variants of AGD (from the anus to the posterior base of the scrotum [AGD_AS] and to the cephalad insertion of the penis [AGD_AP]) were measured. Parametric and non-parametric tests and receiver operating characteristic (COR) analyses were used to determine relationships between AGD and presence of CaP.

RESULTS

The highest area under the curve (0.69; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.78 and 0.69; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.77) was obtained for the Gleason=7 subgroup with the AGD_AS and AGD_AP measurement, with a sensitivity and specificity of 83% and 55%, and 91% and 41%, the predictive positive value of 39% and 35% and negative value of 90% and 93% respectively.

CONCLUSION

AGD may be a useful clinical tool for the CaP diagnosis.

Consensus statements on the management of clinically localized prostate cancer from the Hong Kong Urological Association and the Hong Kong Society of Uro-Oncology

OBJECTIVE

To formulate consensus statements to facilitate physician management strategies for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa) in Hong Kong by jointly convening a panel of 12 experts from the two local professional organizations representing PCa specialists, who had previously established consensus statements on the management of metastatic PCa for the locality.

METHODS

Through a series of meetings, the panellists discussed their clinical experience and the published evidence regarding various areas of the management of localized PCa, then drafted consensus statements. At the final meeting, each drafted statement was voted on by every panellist based on its practicability of recommendation in the locality.

RESULTS

A total of 76 consensus statements were ultimately accepted and established by panel voting.

CONCLUSION

Derived from the recent evidence and major overseas guidelines, along with local clinical experience and practicability, the consensus statements were aimed to serve as a practical reference for physicians in Hong Kong for the management of localized PCa.

RETRACTED: Recommandations françaises du Comité de Cancérologie de l’AFU – Actualisation 2018–2020 : cancer de la prostate French ccAFU guidelines – Update 2018–2020: Prostate cancer

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). Cet article est retiré de la publication à la demande des auteurs car ils ont apporté des modifications significatives sur des points scientifiques après la publication de la première version des recommandations. Le nouvel article est disponible à cette adresse: DOI:10.1016/j.purol.2019.01.007. C’est cette nouvelle version qui doit être utilisée pour citer l’article. This article has been retracted at the request of the authors, as it is not based on the definitive version of the text because some scientific data has been corrected since the first issue was published. The replacement has been published at the DOI:10.1016/j.purol.2019.01.007. That newer version of the text should be used when citing the article.

A Novel Scoring System for Prediction of Prostate Cancer Based on Shear Wave Elastography and Clinical Parameters

OBJECTIVE

To develop a novel scoring system for the prediction of prostate cancer (PCa).

METHODS

We assessed 127 patients who underwent a prostate biopsy. Prior to biopsy, we performed shear wave elastography (SWE), transrectal ultrasound, digital rectal exam, total prostatic specific antigen, PSA density (PSAD), and free PSA/total PSA ratio (F/T). We developed an 11-point scoring system based on SWE and these clinical parameters.

RESULTS

PCa was diagnosed in 51 (40.2%) of 127 patients and 192 (25.2%) of 762 sextants on initial biopsy. ROC curve analyses showed that the cutoff value (COV) for SWE was 40.8 kpa at the sextant level. The AUC of score system based on the SWE and clinical parameters (0.911) was significantly different from scoring systems based on SWE alone (0.842) or clinical parameters alone (0.868). For this 11-point scoring system, the optimal COV, Youden index, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC were 3 points, 0.66, 76.5% 89.5%, 82.98%, 85.00%, and 0.911, respectively. There were 68 negative biopsy results in patients with 0-3 points, and the detection rate of PCa was 100% in patients with scores exceeding 6 points.

CONCLUSION

This 11-point scoring system based on SWE and clinical parameters has the good diagnostic performance for predicting PCa. It may be useful in selecting patients for biopsy, substantially reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies while ensuring that few cancers are missed.

A 12-year follow-up of ANNA/C-TRUS image-targeted biopsies in patients suspicious for prostate cancer

PURPOSE

PSA screening has been rehabilitated. PSA is not specific and can be elevated by benign reasons. Additionally, a subgroup of patients with prostate hyperplasia may harbor prostate cancer (PCa). During monitoring, the clinician aims to detect significant tumors in time, submitting patients to minimal psychological and physical burden, especially in men with high serum PSA and repeat biopsies. We aimed to determine long-term outcomes with respect to ANNA/C-TRUS ability to detect PCa with six targeted biopsies.

METHODS

A subset of 71 patients were enrolled. During monitoring, they were subjected to primary, secondary, or even multiple prostate biopsies when needed. Protocol monitoring included PSA measurements, digital rectal examination (DRE) and imaging.

RESULTS

The median follow-up was 12 years. Forty-one patients had a history of negative systematic random biopsies (1-3 sessions). Their age ranges 62-85 years, PSA 0.5-47.3 ng/ml, and the median prostate volume 11-255 cc. During monitoring, 15 patients were diagnosed with PCa. Only two harbored aggressive tumors. The median time to diagnosis was 6 years. All PCa patients are free from biochemical relapse. From the remaining 56 patients, 11 did not have any biopsies, 12 had one, 13 had two, and 20 had three or more biopsy sessions.

CONCLUSIONS

ANNA/C-TRUS is a useful method monitoring patients with a risk of PCa. 50-75% of the usually performed biopsy cores could be spared and, after 12 years, 97% of the patients were either without evidence of a PCa or were diagnosed with a good prognosis tumor.

Use of Digital Rectal Examination as an Adjunct to Prostate Specific Antigen in the Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer

PURPOSE

Guidelines from the NCCN^® (National Comprehensive Cancer Network®) advocate digital rectal examination screening only in men with elevated prostate specific antigen. We investigated the effect of prostate specific antigen on the association of digital rectal examination and clinically significant prostate cancer in a large American cohort.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We evaluated the records of the 35,350 men who underwent digital rectal examination in the screening arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial for the development of clinically significant prostate cancer (Gleason 7 or greater). Followup was 343,273 person-years. The primary outcome was the rate of clinically significant prostate cancer among men with vs without suspicious digital rectal examination. We performed competing risks regression to evaluate the interaction between time varying suspicious digital rectal examination and prostate specific antigen.

RESULTS

A total of 1,713 clinically significant prostate cancers were detected with a 10-year cumulative incidence of 5.9% (95% CI 5.6-6.2). Higher risk was seen for suspicious vs nonsuspicious digital rectal examination. Increases in absolute risk were small and clinically irrelevant for normal (less than 2 ng/ml) prostate specific antigen (1.5% vs 0.7% risk of clinically significant prostate cancer at 10 years), clinically relevant for elevated (3 ng/ml or greater) prostate specific antigen (23.0% vs 13.7%) and modestly clinically relevant for equivocal (2 to 3 ng/ml) prostate specific antigen (6.5% vs 3.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Digital rectal examination demonstrated prognostic usefulness when prostate specific antigen was greater than 3 ng/ml, limited usefulness for less than 2 ng/ml and marginal usefulness for 2 to 3 ng/ml. These findings support the restriction of digital rectal examination to men with higher prostate specific antigen as a reflex test to improve specificity. It should not be used as a primary screening modality to improve sensitivity.

[CCAFU french national guidelines 2016-2018 on prostate cancer]

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the guidelines national committee CCAFU was to propose updated french guidelines for localized and metastatic prostate cancer (PCa).

METHODS

A Medline search was achieved between 2013 and 2016, as regards diagnosis, options of treatment and follow-up of PCa, to evaluate different references with levels of evidence.

RESULTS

Epidemiology, classification, staging systems, diagnostic evaluation are reported. Disease management options are detailed. Recommandations are reported according to the different clinical situations. Active surveillance is a major option in low risk PCa. Radical prostatectomy remains a standard of care of localized PCa. The three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy is the technical standard. A dose of > 74Gy is recommended. Moderate hypofractionation provides short-term biochemical control comparable to conventional fractionation. In case of intermediate risk PCa, radiotherapy can be combined with short-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). In case of high risk disease, long-term ADT remains the standard of care. ADT is the backbone therapy of metastatic disease. In men with metastases at first presentation, upfront chemotherapy combined with ADT should be considered as a new standard. In case of metastatic castration-resistant PCa (mCRPC), new hormonal treatments and chemotherapy provide a better control of tumor progression and increase survival.

CONCLUSIONS

These updated french guidelines will contribute to increase the level of urological care for the diagnosis and treatment for prostate cancer. © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Does obesity modify prostate cancer detection in a European cohort?

INTRODUCTION

To investigate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) accuracy and digital rectal examination (DRE) accuracy in detecting prostate cancer according to body mass index (BMI) in Spanish men with an indication of the first prostate biopsy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We reviewed the clinical and histopathological data of 1,319 patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy. The patients were categorised according to the BMI as follows: <25 kg/m² (normal weight); 25-29.9 kg/m² (overweight); and ≥30 kg/m² (obese). Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to assess PSA accuracy and DRE accuracy by calculating the area under the curve.

RESULTS

The obesity rate of the cohort was 14%. PSA accuracy for predicting prostate cancer in each BMI category was 0.52, 0.58 and 0.62, respectively (p = 0.01). After stratification by DRE findings, there was no difference in the performance accuracy of PSA in predicting the presence of cancer across BMI groups in abnormal DRE (p = 0.90). Serum PSA, DRE and BMI were strong predictors of prostate cancer diagnosis (odds ratio 1.07, 2.02 and 1.4, respectively; p <0.001). When the DRE was abnormal, a BMI ≥30 increased the risk of prostate cancer twice. With the addition of BMI to the model, the area under the curve of the combined PSA and DRE for diagnosing prostate cancer improved from 0.60 to 0.63.

CONCLUSIONS

The predictive value of PSA in predicting prostate cancer is not poorer in the obese population and the predictive value of an abnormal DRE in cancer detection is significantly modified by the patient's BMI.

Knowledge and practice of prostate cancer screening among general practitioners in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Screening for prostate cancer remains controversial. General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in assisting men to make an informed decision on prostate cancer screening. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of prostate cancer screening among private GPs in Malaysia.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Private general practices in Selangor, Malaysia.

PARTICIPANTS

311 randomly selected full-time private GPs were recruited between September 2013 and January 2014.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Questionnaires were distributed to the GPs via postal mail and clinic visits. The main outcomes were: knowledge of prostate cancer risk factors and screening tests; GPs' prostate cancer screening practices; and factors influencing GPs' decision to screen for prostate cancer. Associations between covariates and propensity to screen for prostate cancer were determined using logistic regression.

RESULTS

The response rate was 65%. The proportion of GPs who overestimated the positive predictive values of prostrate-specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination (DRE) and a combination of PSA and DRE was 63%, 57% and 64%, respectively. About 49.5% of the respondents would routinely screen asymptomatic men for prostate cancer; of them, 94.9% would use PSA to screen. Male GPs who would consider having a PSA test performed on themselves were six times more likely to screen asymptomatic men than GPs who would not have the test (OR=6.88, 95% CI 1.40 to 33.73), after adjusting for age and duration of practice.

CONCLUSIONS

GPs overestimated the accuracy of PSA in prostate cancer screening. Their intention to screen for prostate cancer themselves predicted their propensity to screen their patients for prostate cancer. This finding highlights the potential of using a new approach to change GPs' screening practices via addressing GPs' own screening behaviour.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PC) is a major disease that affects men's health worldwide. It is the second most common form of cancer in men, surpassed only by nonmelanoma skin cancers such as basal and squamous cell carcinomas. Diagnostic strategies with population screening for prostate cancer using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been surrounded with controversy and debated intensively ever since the PSA protein was first purified in 1979 by Wang et al. At the same time, advances in diagnostic imaging, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have increased the opportunity to effectively diagnose, treat, and manage PC. Given the sheer burden of PC disease in Denmark and worldwide, new and innovative strategies for cancer diagnosis and care are needed. This article is a short review of current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the care and management of prostate cancer in Denmark.

[Current aspects of prostate cancer screening]

Screening programs for prostate cancer based on the determination of serum prostate specific antigen has led to overdiagnosis, and consequently overtreatment. A percentage of men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a tumour that will not progress, or do so slowly (overdiagnosis or pseudo-disease). This overdiagnosis rate ranges from 17-50%. Mass screening is defined as the systematic examination of asymptomatic men. Early detection or opportunistic screening involves the pursuit of individual cases being initiated by the doctor or the patient. In the case of a patient who requests a prostate specific antigen from their general practitioner, a number of issues on overdiagnosis, over-treatment and possible damage from the biopsy, should be explained to him. With data from randomised studies on prostate specific antigen and prostate cancer screening, population screening is not recommended by any urological society.

Patients treated with radical prostatectomy with positive digital rectal examination findings in the intermediate-risk group are prone to PSA recurrence

The present study aimed to evaluate the possibility of performing radical prostatectomy (RP) alone to achieve a radical cure for prostate cancer in the intermediate-risk group. Samples were collected from 638 Japanese patients who underwent antegrade RP between August 1998 and May 2013; subsequently, 157 patients were excluded. According to the D'Amico criteria, the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups comprised 107, 222 and 152 patients, respectively. The 5-year prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure-free survival rates in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups were 96.5, 88.9 and 72.6%, respectively (P<0.001; degrees of freedom=2). In the intermediate-risk group, the difference in PSA failure-free survival between the 0<PSA≤10 and 10<PSA≤20 ng/ml, and the biopsy Gleason score 6 and 7 groups were not statistically significant, according to the log-rank test (P=0.2266 and P=0.1329, respectively). However, the difference in PSA failure-free survival between the clinical tumor stage (cT)1c and cT2a/b groups was statistically significant based on the log-rank test (P<0.0001). The results of the multivariate analysis revealed that, of the preoperative characteristics, only the cT was a significant predictor in patients with and without PSA failure (P<0.001). Therefore, patients classified into the intermediate-risk group with cT2a/b stage, according to positive digital rectal examination findings, and are not considered to be likely to achieve a complete cure with RP surgery alone. In summary, for patients meeting these criteria in the intermediate-risk group, RP surgery alone is likely to be insufficient, and other additional treatments may be considered subsequent to RP.

Cancer Screening 2016

The primary goal of cancer screening is to reduce cancer-related mortality without incurring significant harm. Screening efforts for solid tumors, therefore, have targeted the precursors of the most common and the most deadly cancers-breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer. Balancing risk and benefit has led to controversy regarding the timing of cancer screening-when to begin, how often to screen and when to stop-and the nature of the modality of cancer screening-invasive or noninvasive, laboratory-centered or imaging-centered. Evidence-based guidelines published by general medical societies, subspecialty societies and publicly funded task forces on population-based screening aid healthcare providers in making individualized decisions with their patients.

Contemporary outcomes in the detection of prostate cancer using transrectal ultrasound-guided 12-core biopsy in Singaporean men with elevated prostate specific antigen and/or abnormal digital rectal examination

Objective

Despite being the third commonest cancer in Singaporean men, there is a dearth of basic data on the detection rate of prostate cancer and post-procedure complication rates locally using systematic 12-core biopsy. Our objective is to evaluate prostate cancer detection rates using 12-core prostate biopsy based on serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and digital rectal examination (DRE) findings in Singaporean men presenting to a single tertiary centre. The secondary objective is to evaluate the complication rates of transrectal prostate biopsies.

Methods

We retrospectively examined 804 men who underwent first transrectal-ultrasound (TRUS) guided 12-core prostate biopsies from January 2012 to April 2014. Prostate biopsies were performed on men presenting to a tertiary institution when their PSA levels were ≥4.0 ng/mL and/or when they had suspicious DRE findings.

Results

Overall prostate cancer detection rate was 35.1%. Regardless of DRE findings, patients were divided into four subgroups based on their serum PSA levels: 0–3.99 ng/mL, 4.00–9.99 ng/mL, 10.00–19.99 ng/mL and ≥20.00 ng/mL and their detection rates were 9.5%, 20.9%, 38.4% and 72.3%, respectively. The detection rate of cancer based on suspicious DRE findings alone was 59.2% compared to 36.5% based on serum PSA cut-off of 4.0 ng/mL alone. The post-biopsy admission rate for sepsis was 1.5%.

Conclusion

In conclusion, using contemporary 12-core biopsy methods, the local prostate cancer detection rate based on serum PSA and DRE findings has increased over the past decade presumably due to multiple genetic and environmental factors. Post-biopsy sepsis remains an important complication worldwide.

Role of transperineal template biopsy in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common neoplasm diagnosed in men. Whilst treatment modalities have progressed, diagnostic investigations in terms of biopsy methods have been assessed but there is no consensus of when the different diagnostic methods in terms of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) or transperineal template (TPT) should be utilised. TPT biopsy has a higher diagnostic yield than TRUS in those with a primary biopsy, in those with previous negative biopsies with TRUS as well as those undergoing saturation biopsies. Despite the increased likelihood of diagnosing cancer with TPT than TRUS this maybe secondary to the increased number of biopsies being utilised. However there is no consensus regarding the ideal number of biopsies that should be utilised with TPT. Furthermore it is felt that the increased number of biopsies utilised with TPT is associated the higher complication rates with TPT. The role of TPT biopsy is recognised in those with previous negative biopsies with transrectal ultrasound but further work is required regarding the ideal number of biopsies. Furthermore, it is felt that TPT biopsy may have a role in primary biopsy.

Individualized prostate-specific antigen threshold values to avoid overdiagnosis of prostate cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsy in elderly men

OBJECTIVE

To individualize prostate-specific antigen threshold values to avoid overdiagnosis of prostate cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsy in elderly men.

METHODS

A total of 406 men aged over 70 years old with prostate-specific antigen levels between 4.0 and 20.0 ng/ml, normal digital rectal examination results and diagnosed by transrectal needle biopsy were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into a no/favorable-risk cancer group or an unfavorable-risk cancer group based on their Gleason score and the number of positive cores. Prostate-specific antigen levels, percent free prostate-specific antigen level, prostate transition zone volume and the number of previous biopsies were used to discriminate between the two groups. The optimal individualized prostate-specific antigen threshold values based on the other variables that gave a sensitivity of 95% for the detection of unfavorable-risk cancer were calculated using a boosting method for maximizing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

A total of 66 men had favorable-risk cancer, and 139 had unfavorable-risk cancer. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the combination model determined by the boosting method for maximizing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.852. The sensitivity and specificity of the threshold values for the detection of unfavorable-risk cancer were 95 and 36%, respectively. By using the threshold values, 100 (25%) of the subjects with no/favorable-risk cancer could have avoided undergoing biopsies, with a <5% risk of missing the detection of unfavorable-risk cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

These individualized prostate-specific antigen threshold values may be useful for determining an indication of prostate biopsy for elderly men to avoid overdiagnosis of prostate cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsy.