[Correct use of prostate-specific antigen in office practice].
OBJECTIVE
To standardize interpretation and comments of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay results by clinical pathology laboratories in office practice.


METHODS
From September 2004 to May 2006, interpretation and comments of PSA assay results performed by 100 different laboratories were analysed retrospectively.


RESULTS
Nineteen different PSA assay kits were used. The so-called "normal" value for total PSA was less than 4 ng/ml for two-thirds of kits. Determination of the free PSA/total PSA ratio (91 cases) was based on a cut-off value ranging from 10 to 25% and the frequent laboratory comments (89 cases) more often referred to benign prostatic hyperplasia (51 case) than prostate cancer (nine cases).


CONCLUSIONS
The marked diversity of PSA assay techniques currently used and the divergent interpretations by various laboratories lead to problems of interpretation for both practitioners and patients.
Desfemmes
F-R
FR
Service d'Urologie, Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées du Val-de-Grâce, 74, boulevard Port-Royal, 75005 Paris, France. fre.desfemmes@neuf.fr <fre.desfemmes@neuf.fr>
Deligne
E
E
Ghoundale
O
O
Labarthe
P
P
Berlizot
P
P
Houlgatte
A
A
D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000592:standards; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen