What are the possible reasons for urethral PSA varieties after radical prostatectomy?
OBJECTIVE
To examine the possible reasons for great varieties in urethral prostate specific antigen (urPSA) levels, in patients after radical prostatectomy (RP).


METHODS
In 46 patients with pros-tate cancer, PSA, urPSA, total testosterone, body-mass index (BMI) and the stage of androgenic alopecia (AGA) were determined. Forty-five patients underwent retropubic RP, while one underwent cystoprostatectomy with orthotopic bladder construction, due to bladder cancer.


RESULTS
Average patients age prior to surgery plus or minus standard deviation was 65.2 +/- 5.8 years. Average urPSA was 20.9 +/- 47.5 ng/ml (0.05 to 212 ng/ml, median 2.24 ng/ml). With urethral PSA cut-off of 2.0 ng/ml, two groups were formed: A (urPSA < 2.0 ng/ml) and B (urPSA = 2.0 ng/ml). Patients in the group A had significantly lower average AGA score, than the patients from the group B (2.4 +/- 1.3 vs. 4.4 +/- 2.2, p = 0.0003). In addition, patients from the group A had significantly lower pos-toperative PSA (0.07+0.08 ng/ml vs. 0.14 +/- 0.06 ng/ml, p = 0.0014).


CONCLUSIONS
The patients with higher urPSA have higher AGA scores and higher postoperative PSA. This phenomenon is probably the consequence of higher local dihydrotestosterone activity in the scalp and PSA-secreting urethral glands.
Pejcić
T
T
Clinical Center of Serbia, Urological Clinic, Belgrade, Serbia Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia.
Hadzi-Djokić
J
J
Marković
B
B
Lalić
N
N
Glisić
B
B
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000505:Alopecia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014521:Urethra / Q000378:metabolism*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery
D013739:Testosterone; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen