title: Lower urinary tract symptoms and their severity in men subjected to prostate biopsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are one of most frequent complaints among men over 50 years of age. They usually result from benign prostate hyperplasia, which often coexists with cancer. The aim of the present study is to evaluate prospectively the incidence of LUTS and their character in men subjected to prostate biopsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of men who were subjected to transrectal ultrasound guided prostate core biopsy from 1st July 2007 to 30th July 2008 in selected urological departments in Poland were analyzed. LUTS were measured with International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prostate biopsy was performed in 747 men aged between 34 and 93 years (mean - 67.4; median - 68). LUTS of mild degree or no LUTS (≤7 IPSS points) were reported by 29.5% of patients. PCa was found in 60.0% of them. Among men with moderate or severe LUTS (IPSS >7 points), PCa was found in 51.4% and 55.0% of them respectively. Median PSA was 9.5 ng/ml, 9.4 ng/ml and 12.0 ng/ml in men with mild, moderate and severe LUTS respectively (NS). However, among men with severe LUTS, PCa was more likely to be less differentiated and locally advanced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LUTS are weak predictors of a positive result of transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy. However, there is a trend to diagnose more locally advanced and less highly differentiated cancers among men with severe lower urinary tract symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dobruch
authors.affiliation: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Elza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Modzelewska
authors.affiliation: Medical Academy, Department of Urology, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tyloch
authors.affiliation: Medical Academy, Department of Urology, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
authors.forename: Bartosz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Misterek
authors.affiliation: The J. Biziel Hospital, Department of Urology, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Czapkowicz
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Urology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bres-Niewada
authors.affiliation: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borówka
keywords: biopsy; lower urinary tract symptoms; prostate; prostate cancer