The Effect of Prostatic Calculi Detected by Transrectal Ultrasound on the Level of Serum Prostate Specific Antigen

Park, Hyoung Keun; Kwak, Cheol; Kim, Seung Hyup; Jeong, Hyeon; Lee, Sang Eun

Abstract

PURPOSE: The prostate specific antigen, PSA, may be elevated in patients with benign prostatic diseases. Prostatic calculi are very common, but little is known for their effect on the level of PSA. The relationship between prostatic calculi and PSA were analyzed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 486 patients were evaluated with transrectal an ultrasound (TRUS), and the PSA determined. The patients were divided into the calculi (n=198, 40.6%) and non calculi groups (n=288, 59.4%), according to the presence of prostatic calculi in the TRUS. These groups were further divided into low PSA (PSA<4ng/ml) (n=417) and high PSA groups (PSA=4ng/ml) (n=69), according to serum PSA levels. The prostatic calculi volume was calculated using a transrectal ultrasonographic volume determination, based on the HWL principle (HeightxWidthxLengthx pi/6).
RESULTS
The mean volume of the prostatic calculi was 257mm3, which was correlated with the age (p<0.01). The median serum PSA concentration was 2.11ng/ml for all the patients: 2.16ng/ml for the calculi group and 2.08ng/ml for the non-calculi group. The serum PSA concentration was higher in the calculi group, but there was no statistical significant between the two groups (p>0.05). The serum PSA concentration was not correlated with the calculi volume (p>0.05). The difference in the proportion of patients with prostatic calculi was not statistically significant between the low and high PSA groups (p>0.05). The mean volumes of prostatic calculi were 264 and 214mm3 in the low and high PSA groups, respectively, but these were not significantly different between the two groups (p>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
The presence, or volume, of prostatic calculi, as detected by TRUS, has no significant effect on the serum PSA level.