Is histological prostate inflammation in an initial prostate biopsy a predictor of prostate cancer on repeat biopsy?

To investigate whether histological inflammation detected in an initial prostate biopsy can predict the risk of prostate cancer on a repeat biopsy.

This was a retrospective study of 171 patients who underwent repeat prostate biopsy for persistently elevated prostate-specific antigen after an initial negative biopsy result. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups according to the results of the repeat biopsy: the noncancer group (n = 126) and the cancer group (n = 45). Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the effect of inflammation grade, aggressiveness, and prostate-related parameters on the detection of prostate cancer at the repeat biopsy.

Prostate inflammation grade (p = 0.005) and aggressiveness (p = 0.001) in the initial biopsy were significantly different between the cancer and noncancer groups. Factors associated with the risk of prostate cancer at the repeat biopsy were age [odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.14], prostate-specific antigen density (OR 24.30; 95 % CI 9.3-62.9), prostate-specific antigen velocity (OR 1.05; 95 % CI 1.01-1.09), and inflammation aggressiveness (OR 0.05; 95 % CI 0.01-0.27).

A histological inflammatory finding at the initial prostate biopsy was negatively associated with prostate cancer detection in repeat biopsy. This result could be useful to determine the need for repeat prostate biopsy in patients with persistently elevated prostate-specific antigen.