Prostate-specific Antigen and Prostate Cancer: How can We Improve Specificity and Predictive Power of the Marker?

1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-55
Author(s):  
M. Moretti ◽  
A. Cichero ◽  
P. Pittaluga ◽  
M. Varaldo ◽  
Aldo V. Bono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Specific Antigen ◽  
Transrectal Ultrasound ◽  
Digital Rectal Examination ◽  
Volume Ratio ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Rectal Examination ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Multiple Biopsies ◽  
Prostate Cancers

PSA is commonly used in diagnosing prostate cancer but it lacks both specificity and sensitivity; PSA values rise in benign prostatic affections and up to 30% prostate cancers show normal PSA values. Preliminary reports indicate that PSA DENSITY (PSAD), i.e. PSA/prostate-volume ratio, can improve specificity of PSA in diagnosing prostate cancer. We considered PSAD in 55 patients of 160 observed for prostatism: all of them underwent digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasound and multiple biopsies of the gland. We found cancer in 19 patients (PSAD ranging from 0.17 to 1.77, with a mean value of 0.45), 26 prostatic hyperplasia (PSAD from 0.003 to 0.75, with a mean of 0.13), 6 dysplasia (PSAD from 0.07 to 0.30, with a mean of 0.19). In our experience PSAD > 0.17 or mean value > 0.45 indicate cancer in the absence of significant digital rectal examination and ultrasound findings or normal and borderline PSA values.

scholarly journals Clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer using digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests: a systematic review and meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson C. Okpua ◽  
Simon I. Okekpa ◽  
Stanley Njaka ◽  
Augusta N. Emeh
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Prostate Specific Antigen ◽  
Sensitivity And Specificity ◽  
Specific Antigen ◽  
Digital Rectal Examination ◽  
Antigen Test ◽  
Rectal Examination ◽  
Prostate Specific Antigen Test ◽  
Prostate Cancers ◽  
Antigen Tests

Abstract Background Being diagnosed with cancer, irrespective of type initiates a serious psychological concern. The increasing rate of detection of indolent prostate cancers is a source of worry to public health. Digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests are the commonly used prostate cancer screening tests. Understanding the diagnostic accuracies of these tests may provide clearer pictures of their characteristics and values in prostate cancer diagnosis. This review compared the sensitivities and specificities of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen test in detection of clinically important prostate cancers using studies from wider population. Main body We conducted literature search in PubMed, Medline, Science Direct, Wiley Online, CINAHL, Scopus, AJOL and Google Scholar, using key words and Boolean operators. Studies comparing the sensitivity and specificity of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests in men 40 years and above, using biopsy as reference standard were retrieved. Data were extracted and analysed using Review manager (RevMan 5.3) statistical software. The overall quality of the studies was good, and heterogeneity was observed across the studies. The result comparatively shows that prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity (P < 0.00001, RR 0.74, CI 0.67–0.83) and specificity (P < 0.00001, RR 1.81, CI 1.54–2.12) in the detection of prostate cancers than digital rectal examination. Conclusion Prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting prostate cancers from men of multiple ethnic origins. However, combination of prostate-specific antigen test and standardized digital rectal examination procedure, along with patients history, may improve the accuracy and minimize over-diagnoses of indolent prostate cancers.

scholarly journals Prostate Cancer Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers’ Clinical Utility in Diagnosis and Prognosis

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3373
Author(s):  
Milena Matuszczak ◽  
Jack A. Schalken ◽  
Maciej Salagierski
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Liquid Biopsy ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Prostate Gland ◽  
Specific Antigen ◽  
Transrectal Ultrasound ◽  
Digital Rectal Examination ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men worldwide. The current gold standard for diagnosing PCa relies on a transrectal ultrasound-guided systematic core needle biopsy indicated after detection changes in a digital rectal examination (DRE) and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in the blood serum. PSA is a marker produced by prostate cells, not just cancer cells. Therefore, an elevated PSA level may be associated with other symptoms such as benign prostatic hyperplasia or inflammation of the prostate gland. Due to this marker’s low specificity, a common problem is overdiagnosis, which leads to unnecessary biopsies and overtreatment. This is associated with various treatment complications (such as bleeding or infection) and generates unnecessary costs. Therefore, there is no doubt that the improvement of the current procedure by applying effective, sensitive and specific markers is an urgent need. Several non-invasive, cost-effective, high-accuracy liquid biopsy diagnostic biomarkers such as Progensa PCA3, MyProstateScore ExoDx, SelectMDx, PHI, 4K, Stockholm3 and ConfirmMDx have been developed in recent years. This article compares current knowledge about them and their potential application in clinical practice.

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