Determining age-specific prostate-specific antigen for healthy Indian men: A retrospective study

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Urology
• Public Health

Background:

• Prostate cancer is a significant global health concern, particularly impacting older men.
• There is a rising incidence of prostate cancer in India.
• Existing age-specific prostate-specific antigen (PSA) data for Indian men is limited by small sample sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine age-specific PSA reference ranges for a large cohort of Indian men.
• To provide a basis for improved clinical decision-making in prostate cancer screening for Indian men.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of 86,728 apparently healthy Indian men who underwent PSA testing between 2011 and 2018.
• Data was extracted from a hospital-based database of two tertiary referral centers in South India.
• Statistical analysis was performed to determine PSA percentiles across different age groups.

Main Results:

• The mean PSA for the cohort was 1.2 ng/mL, with a median of 0.7 ng/mL.
• Serum PSA levels showed a positive correlation with age in Indian men.
• The 95th percentile PSA levels increased with each decade of life, with specific values provided for age groups up to 80 years and above.

Conclusions:

• Serum PSA levels in Indian men are positively correlated with age.
• Established age-specific PSA values for Indian men are lower than those for Caucasian men.
• New age-specific reference ranges are proposed to enhance clinical decision-making for prostate cancer in India.