The free-to-total serum prostatic specific antigen ratio as a predictor of the pathological features of prostate cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Curative therapy and extended period of disease free survival for patients with prostate cancer is possible only if the radical prostatectomy is performed when the disease is organ confined. It has been shown that combined use of local clinical stage, Gleason score of transrectal needle biopsy and serum PSA can accurately predict the final pathological stage in men undergoing radical prostatectomy. Recently the free/total PSA (F/T PSA) has been shown to improve the specificity of serum PSA level in early detection prostate cancer. In this study the utility of F/T PSA ratio in prediction the final pathological features of the prostate cancer was investigated.


METHODS
52 patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy were included in this study with mean age of 63 (ranging from 49 to 73). According to the pathologic features of the tumors, patients were classified as organ confined in 37 (%71), specimen-confined in 39 (%75) and as with favorable pathology which was defined as organ confined or specimen confined with Gleason score lower than 7, 39 (%75) patients.


RESULTS
Neither total PSA levels nor F/T PSA values correlate significantly with the pathological characteristics of the tumor. The logistic regression analysis showed that the biopsy Gleason score was the only variable that was able to predict the pathology of the tumor (p < 0,05).


CONCLUSIONS
As a conclusion Gleason score of the needle biopsy specimen is the most predictive factor of the final pathological outcome. F/T PSA ratio did not provide additional information about predicting pathological stage.
Erdem
Erim
E
Hacettepe University Medical Faculty, Department of Urology, Turkey. erdemerim@hotmail.com
Atsü
Necmettin
N
Akbal
Cem
C
Bilen
Cenk Y
CY
Ergen
Ali
A
Ozen
Haluk
H
D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen