Does prostate growth confound prostate specific antigen velocity? Data from the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging

The effect of pharmacotherapy on prostate volume, prostate perfusion and prostate-specific antigen (prostate morphometric parameters) in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic obstruction. A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The clinical effect of pharmacotherapy on prostate morphometric parameters is largely unknown. The sole exception is 5α-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) that reduce prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). This review assesses the effect of pharmacotherapy on prostate parameters effect on prostate parameters, namely total prostate volume (TPV), transitional zone volume (TZV), PSA and prostate perfusion.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on morphometric parameters' changes after pharmacotherapy, as primary or secondary outcomes. The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. RCTs' quality was assessed by the Cochrane tool and the criteria of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The effect magnitude was expressed as standard mean difference (SMD). The study protocol was published on PROSPERO (CRD42020170172).

RESULTS

Sixty-seven RCTs were included in the review and 18 in the meta-analysis. The changes after alpha-blockers are comparable to placebo. Long-term studies reporting significant changes from baseline, result from physiologic growth. Finasteride and dutasteride demonstrated large effect sizes in TPV reduction ([SMD]: -1.15 (95% CI: -1.26 to -1.04, p <0.001, and [SMD]:-0.66 (95% CI: -0.83 to -0.49, p <0.001, respectively), and similar PSA reductions. Dutasteride's effect appears earlier (1st vs 3rd month), the changes reach a maximum at month 12 and are sustained thereafter. Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have no effect on morphometric parameters. Phytotherapy's effect on TPV is non-significant [SMD]: 0.12 (95% CI: -0.03 to 0.27, p = 0.13). Atorvastatin reduces TPV as compared to placebo (-11.7% vs +2.5%, p <0.01). Co-administration of testosterone with dutasteride spares the prostate from the androgenic stimulation as both TPV and PSA are reduced significantly.

CONCLUSIONS

The 5-ARIs show large effect size in reducing TPV and PSA. Tamsulosin improves perfusion but no other effect is evident. PDE-5 inhibitors and phytotherapy do not affect morphometric parameters. Atorvastatin reduces TPV and PSA as opposed to testosterone supplementation.

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.

Efficacy and safety of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor monotherapy in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia: A meta-analysis

Background

Although combination therapy with 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor (5ARI) and alpha-blocker is one of the standard interventions in symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 5ARI monotherapy is seldom the focus of attention. Adverse events associated with 5ARI include depression and suicidal attempts in addition to persistent erectile dysfunction. The aim of this study is to update our knowledge of clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse events associated with 5ARI treatment in symptomatic BPH.

Methods and findings

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) from 1966 until March, 2017 was performed using database from PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration and Embase. A total of 23395 patients were included in this study and the inclusion criteria were: RCTs with 5ARI and placebo in symptomatic BPH patients. Parameters included prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PV), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPPS), post-void residual urine (PVR), voiding symptoms of IPSS (voiding IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), and adverse events (AEs). A meta-analysis with meta-regression was performed for each effect size and adverse events, sensitivity analysis, cumulative analysis along with the analysis of ratio of means (ROM) in the placebo group.

A total of 42 studies were included in this study for review, and a total of 37 studies were included in the meta-analysis, including a total of 23395 patients (treatment group: 11392, placebo group: 12003). The effect size of all variables except PVR showed a significant improvement following 5ARI treatment compared with placebo. However, the effect size of differences showed declining trend in PV, IPSS and Qmax according to recent years of publication. In ROM analysis, PV showed no significant increase in the placebo group, with a ROM of 1.00 (95% CI, 0.88, 1.14). The 5ARI treatment resulted in a significantly higher incidence of decreased libido (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.36, 2.13), ejaculatory disorder (OR = 2.94; 95% CI, 2.15, 4.03), gynecomastia (OR = 2.32; 95% CI, 1.41, 3.83), and impotence (OR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.32, 2.29). Our study has the following limitations: included studies were heterogeneous and direct comparison of efficacy between alpha blocker and 5ARI was not performed. Adverse events including depression or suicidal attempt could not be analyzed in this meta-analysis setting.

Conclusions

Although there was a significant clinical benefit of 5ARI monotherapy compared with placebo, the effective size was small. Moreover, the risk of adverse events including sexually related complications were high. Additional head-to-head studies are needed to re-evaluate the clinical efficacy of 5ARI compared with alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers.

The relationship between prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen variability: data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging and the Johns Hopkins Active Surveillance Program

Study Type--Prognostic (cohort). Level of Evidence 2b. What's known on the subject? And what does the study add? Previous studies have attempted to characterize the normal biological variability in PSA among men without prostate cancer. These reports suggest that PSA variability is unrelated to age, but there are conflicting data on its association with the baseline PSA level. There are limited published data regarding the effects of prostate volume on PSA variability. A prior study assessing whether prostate volume changes would confound the use of PSA velocity in clinical practice reported that prostate volume changes were not significantly related to PSA changes. This study did not directly address the effect of baseline prostate volume on serial PSA variability. The objective of the current study was to further examine the relationship between prostate volume and PSA variability. Our hypothesis was that larger baseline prostate volume would be associated with increased PSA variability in men without known prostate cancer and in those with suspected small-volume disease. The results of the study suggest that baseline PSA, not prostate volume, is the primary driver of PSA variability in these populations.

OBJECTIVE

• To clarify the relationship between serial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) variability and prostate volume in both cancer-free participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and patients with low-risk prostate cancer from the Johns Hopkins Active Surveillance Program (AS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

• In all, 287 men from the BLSA and 131 patients from the AS were included in the analysis, all with at least two PSA measurements and concurrent prostate volume measurements. • PSA variability was calculated in ng/mL per year, and a linear mixed-effects model was used to determine the relative effects of prostate volume, baseline PSA and age on PSA change over time.

RESULTS

• In a model with prostate volume, age and baseline PSA, there was no significant relationship between prostate volume and PSA variability (BLSA, P= 0.57; AS, P= 0.49). • Only baseline PSA showed a significant relationship to PSA yearly variability (PSAYV) (P < 0.001). Specifically, a one unit higher baseline PSA (ng/mL) corresponded on average to 0.09 and 0.06 ng/mL per year higher PSAYV in the BLSA and AS populations, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

• The results of the present study suggest that the primary driver of PSA variability is the baseline PSA level, rather than prostate volume. • Clinicians might consider the baseline PSA level to help predict the expected variability in serial PSA measurements.

Intraprostatic Botulinum Toxin Type A injection in patients with benign prostatic enlargement: duration of the effect of a single treatment

Background

Botulinum Toxin Type-A (BoNT/A) intraprostatic injection can induce prostatic involution and improve LUTS and urinary flow in patients with Benign Prostatic Enlargement (BPE). However, the duration of these effects is unknown. The objective of this work was to determine the duration of prostate volume reduction after one single intraprostatic injection of 200U of Botulinum Toxin Type-A.

Methods

This is an extension of a 6 month study in which 21 frail elderly patients with refractory urinary retention and unfit for surgery were submitted to intraprostatic injection of BoNT/A-200U, by ultrasound guided transrectal approach. In spite of frail conditions, eleven patients could be followed during 18 months. Prostate volume, total serum PSA, maximal flow rate (Qmax), residual volume (PVR) and IPSS-QoL scores were determined at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months post-treatment.

Results

Mean prostate volume at baseline, 82 ± 16 ml progressively decreased from month one coming to 49 ± 9,5 ml (p = 0,003) at month six. From this moment on, prostate volume slowly recovered, becoming identical to baseline at 18 months (73 ± 16 ml, p = 0.03). Albeit non significant, serum PSA showed a 25% decrease from baseline to month 6. The 11 patients resumed spontaneous voiding at month one. Mean Qmax was 11,3 ± 1,7 ml/sec and remained unchanged during the follow-up period. PVR ranged from 55 ± 17 to 82 ± 20 ml and IPSS score from10 to 12 points.

Conclusion

Intraprostatic BoNT/A injection is safe and can reduce prostate volume for a period of 18 months. During this time a marked symptomatic improvement can be maintained.

Early prostate-specific antigen changes and the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To delineate how recent findings on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can improve prediction of risk, detection, and prediction of clinical endpoints of prostate cancer (PCa).

RECENT FINDINGS

The widely used PSA cut-point of 4.0 ng/ml increasingly appears arbitrary, but no cut-point achieves both high sensitivity and high specificity. The accuracy of detecting PCa can be increased by additional predictive factors and a combinations of markers. Evidence implies that a panel of kallikrein markers improves the specificity and reduces costs by eliminating unnecessary biopsies. Large, population-based studies have provided evidence that PSA can be used to predict PCa risk many years in advance, improve treatment selection and patient care, and predict the risk of complications and disease recurrence. However, definitive evidence is currently lacking as to whether PSA screening lowers PCa -specific mortality.

SUMMARY

PSA is still the main tool for early detection, risk stratification, and monitoring of PCa. However, PSA values are affected by many technical and biological factors. Instead of using a fixed PSA cut-point, using statistical prediction models and considering the integration additional markers may be able to improve and individualize PCa diagnostics. A single PSA measurement at early middle age can predict risk of advanced PCa decades in advance and stratify patients for intensity of subsequent screening.