The effects of transurethral prostatectomy on serum prostate specific antigen.

Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) was recorded in 75 patients immediately before and after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Fifty-eight patients had benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and 17 had prostatic carcinoma (CaP). In patients with BPH there was a statistically significant rise in PSA immediately following TURP. No such rise was seen in patients with prostatic carcinoma. A statistically significant correlation was identified between the weight of the benign hypertrophic prostate and the baseline pre-operative serum PSA. Because of the effects of TURP on serum PSA it is important to avoid PSA estimations immediately following such surgery. The failure of the malignant prostate to release PSA in significant amounts during TURP suggests that the elevated levels of PSA found in patients with prostatic carcinoma arise not from the local disease but from its metastases.