Aggressive prostate cancer masquerading as acute prostatitis

Prostatitis is a common cause of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) elevation but can masquerade underlying prostate cancer. We present a case of a man with undiagnosed prostate cancer whose initial PSA elevation of > 999.0 ng/mL was initially ascribed entirely to prostatitis. In the setting of possible prostatitis clinicians should avoid the knee jerk reaction to blame the totality of PSA elevation on prostatitis. A greatly elevated PSA may be a sign of an underlying prostate cancer and should be explored in the proper clinical setting.