BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical value of the measurement of complex and total PSA in the discrimination between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer. METHODS: In serum samples collected from 166 men with histopathologically proven clinically localized prostate cancer and of 97 men with BPH, total prostate-specific antigen (PSA), complexed PSA and the free to total PSA ratio were determined. The statistical analysis was done by the comparison of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: The areas under the ROC curves were 0.776 for total PSA, 0.799 for complexed PSA (total PSA vs. cPSA: p < 0.0001) and 0.812 for the free to total PSA ratio. With a cut-off of 3.0 ng/ml for complexed PSA, the sensitivity was 90%, the specificity 58%, the positive and the negative predictive values 79 and 78%, respectively. With a cut-off of 4.0 ng/ml for total PSA, the sensitivity was 87%, the specificity 59%, the positive and the negative predictive values were 78 and 72%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant advantage for complexed PSA compared to total PSA in the discrimination between BPH and prostate cancer. The difference was, however, small and its clinical relevance is questionable. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical value of the measurement of complex and total PSA in the discrimination between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer. METHODS: In serum samples collected from 166 men with histopathologically proven clinically localized prostate cancer and of 97 men with BPH, total prostate-specific antigen (PSA), complexed PSA and the free to total PSA ratio were determined. The statistical analysis was done by the comparison of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: The areas under the ROC curves were 0.776 for total PSA, 0.799 for complexed PSA (total PSA vs. cPSA: p < 0.0001) and 0.812 for the free to total PSA ratio. With a cut-off of 3.0 ng/ml for complexed PSA, the sensitivity was 90%, the specificity 58%, the positive and the negative predictive values 79 and 78%, respectively. With a cut-off of 4.0 ng/ml for total PSA, the sensitivity was 87%, the specificity 59%, the positive and the negative predictive values were 78 and 72%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant advantage for complexed PSA compared to total PSA in the discrimination between BPH and prostate cancer. The difference was, however, small and its clinical relevance is questionable. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Authors: Koenraad van Renterghem; Gommert Van Koeveringe; Ruth Achten; Philip van Kerrebroeck Journal: Int Urol Nephrol Date: 2009-06-03 Impact factor: 2.370