title: Use of the prostate specific antigen (P.S.A.) in early detection of prostate cancer in males over the age of 50.
abstract: A total of 469 males over the age of 50 years were tested by the prostate specific antigen (PSA) with follow-up evaluations on those that exceeded 4.0 ng/ml. Thirty six (7.7 percent) of the participants had abnormal results, 23 (63.9 percent) had abnormal digital rectal examinations (DRE) and had biopsies done. Ten of the 23 biopsied participants had positive findings of prostate malignancy and 16 participants had benign prostatic hyperplasia. Three participants with abnormal PSA had negative DRE and no evidence of malignancy by ultrasound. Based on age-specific reference ranges, only one positive biopsy would have been missed while five of the 16 males who had negative biopsies would not have had to undergo this procedure. This would have resulted in a significant savings of medical costs as well as undue worry by the patient.
authors.affiliation: Baptist Memorial Health Care System, Memphis Pathology Laboratory, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Smalley
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012016:Reference Values