Correlation between prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen in Nigerian men with symptomatic...

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is elevated in the serum of most men with prostatic diseases. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the commonest of these diseases. The degree of enlargement of the prostate may determine the amount of PSA elaborated. Several reports in some parts of the world have shown a significant correlation between prostate volume (PV) and PSA. However, only a few reports have been documented in Nigeria, especially in the South-South region.

This research aimed to ascertain if there is any correlation between prostate volume (PV), total PSA (tPSA), and free PSA (fPSA) in men with histologically diagnosed BPH. This knowledge may help in the estimation of PV from a given PSA.

This prospective hospital-based study was carried out in a southern Nigerian tertiary hospital between November 2017 and October 2018. Eighty (80) eligible and consenting patients participated in the study and were enrolled at first contact in the urology clinic. Each patient's blood was taken for PSA estimation. The prostate volume was estimated by transrectal ultrasound scan (TRUS). Those who had tPSA values greater than 4 ng/mL whose biopsy report showed prostate malignancy were excluded from the study. A proforma was used to collect patients' sociodemographic and clinical information. Data were entered and analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, United States). For all statistical tests, P < 0.05 was regarded as significant.

The mean age of the patients for this study was 68.03 years. The mean prostate volume was 87.9 mL with a range of 34 to 234 mL. The mean tPSA was 5.5 ng/mL with ranges of 1.1 to 21.1 ng/mL. There was a significant correlation between PV and tPSA with a P value of 0.0001. This correlation was also shown between PV and fPSA with a P value of 0.0001.

There is a statistically significant correlation between PV and PSA (both free and total) in men with symptomatic histologically diagnosed BPH. This finding showed that larger benign prostate glands elaborated greater amounts of PSA. It may, therefore, be appropriate to say that it is not in all cases of elevated serum tPSA that the possibilities of malignancy or inflammation should be entertained.