• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7085-7088
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• 2015

Background: The high incidence of prostate cancer as the most common malignancy in males in many countries raises the question of developing reliable detection tests. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is the most widely used for screening for prostate cancer; however, its low specificity elevates the number of unnecessarily biopsies. Serum human kallikrein-2 (hK2) is considered as a promising marker, and especially its ratio to fPSA, for predicting the presence of malignancy to select the best choice referring to biopsy or surveillance. In this study, we investigated the role of hK2 and its combinations with other markers to discriminate prostate cancer from benign diseases in Syrian patients. Materials and Methods: In this prospective oriented cross-sectional cohort study, serum samples were collected from patients referred to many Hospitals in Damascus, Syria, between May 2011 and March 2012, and diagnosed with biopsy proven benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) or prostate cancer (PCa). Serum was analyzed for hK2, PSA and fPSA, and the ratios of fPSA/PSA and hK2/fPSA were calculated. Results: We found that mean hK2/fPSA ratios were significantly higher (P=0.01) in prostate cancer patients than in the BPH or control groups. Also the ratio hk2/fPSA gave the largest area under the curve (AUC:0.96) which was significantly larger than for fPSA/PSA (AUC:0.41) indicative of higher specificity. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the ratio of hK2/fPSA might be superior to the use of fPSA/PSA alone. The hK2 could be shown to enhance the early detection of prostate cancer; especially the ratio hK2/fPSA improves specificity and hence may reduce the number of negative biopsies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.840-846
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• 2007

Human prostate-specific antigen(PSA), a 33 kDa serine protease with comprehensive homology to glandular kallikrein, is secreted from prostatic tissue into the seminal fluid and enters into the circulation. The level of PSA increases in the serum of patients with prostatic cancer and hence is widely employed as a marker of the disease status. In particular, an enzymatically active PSA that is a form cleaved at the N-terminal seven-amino-acids prosequence, APLILSR, of proPSA may play an important roll in the progression of prostate cancer. Thus, the presence of the active form would selectively discriminate the cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia. In this study, we developed a convenient purification method for the acquisition of active PSA and proPSA. Recombinant proPSA and active PSA were expressed directly in Escherichia coli, easily and efficiently isolated from inclusion bodies, refolded, and purified. Moreover, the enzymatic activity of the recombinant active PSA was confirmed as serine protease using chromogenic chymotrypsin substrate. This purified active PSA could be further applied to scrutinize the biological or conformational characteristics of the protein and to develop specific diagnostic and/or therapeutic agents against prostate cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5261-5264
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• 2015

Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of serum free-to-total prostate specific antigen ratio (%fPSA) for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) in men with different serum total PSA (tPSA) categories. Materials and Methods: From January 2010 to December 2013, a total of 225 patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) underwent tPSA and %fPSA measurements. Histological examination with calculation of Gleason score and whole body bone scans were performed in identified cases of PCa. Results: PCa was diagnosed in 44 (19.6%) patients and the remaining 181 patients had benign prostate disease. PCa was detected in 5 (23.8%), 13 (8.7%) and 26 (47.3%) cases with tPSA level ranges ${\leq}4ng/ml$, 4 to 10 ng/ml and >10 ng/ml, respectively. The average Gleason score was $7.2{\pm}0.2$. Some 6 (13.6%) out of 44 PCa patients had bone metastases. The sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 81.3% at the cut-off %fPSA of 15% in PCa patients with a tPSA level below 4 ng/mL. A lower %fPSA was associated with PCa patients with Gleason score ${\geq}7$ than those with Gleason score ${\leq}6$ ($11.7{\pm}0.98$ vs. $16.5{\pm}2.25%$, P=0.029). No obvious relation of %fPSA to the incidence of bone metastasis was apparent in this study. Conclusions: The clinical application of %fPSA could help to discriminate PCa from benign prostate disease in men with a tPSA concentration below 4 ng/mL.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.71-80
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review primary research exploring the correlations between the levels of serum testosterone and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in healthy men without prostate diseases. Methods: An integrative review was conducted using the Whittemore & Knafle (2005) framework. The keywords, 'testosterone & prostate-specific antigen', 'testosterone & PSA' and 'healthy men' were used to search peer-reviewed publications in six databases. Among 1,959 searched articles, eleven articles were selected after excluding articles that do not meet inclusion criteria. Literature quality was moderate (Level 3). Results: As a result of this study, it was confirmed through the nine articles that healthy adult men showed no significant correlation between the serum testosterone and the PSA. Conversely, two articles presented that the serum PSA correlate positively with the testosterone. In particular, it is inferred that the effect of the serum testosterone and the PSA secreted into a 24-hour circadian rhythm with different amplitudes and slopes would have had great influence. However, it does not consider the factors affecting the testosterone and the PSA, such as race, liver disease, and BMI, so there is insufficient empirical data to clearly explain the relationship between the testosterone and the PSA. Conclusion: The correlation between the serum testosterone and the PSA in healthy adult men is insignificant in relation to the circadian rhythm of the testosterone and the PSA secretion. It is that a large-scale study including various influencing factors using new biochemical indicators such as pro PSA be conducted in the future.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2010

The measurement of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in screening for prostate cancer is recently performed as a routine check-up in clinical medicine and insurance medicine. Several factors may affect serum PSA levels. As prostate size increases with increasing age, the PSA concentration also rises. Increasing body mass index (BMI) is associated with a lower mean PSA concentration. Inhibitors of 5-alpha-reductase such as finasteride and dutasteride produce a 50 percent or greater decrease in serum PSA during the first three months of therapy, which persists as long as the drug is continued. Men who are regularly taking non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen have lower PSA levels. Emerging concepts regarding PSA testing that may help refine the interpretation of an elevated concentration include: PSA density, PSA velocity, and Free versus complexed or bound PSA. With many insurance companies, PSA level has become part of a standard battery of blood tests, along with HIV, cholesterol, liver enzymes, and other predictors of premature death. But, there is no clear proof of benefit, so we have to monitor the value of PSA test as a prostate cancer screening test in insurance medicine.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2009

It would be one of the most important tests that determination of semen in crime scene as a matter of significant evidences. Recently, it has been developed for the identification of semen in forensic specimens which was used simply, easily and reproductively. In this study, Prostate-Specific-Antigen (PSA) Rapid Test kit was evaluated for the forensic identification of semen and compared with one step semen inspection forensic rapid test kit. The sensitivity and specificity of the rapid PSA kit were examined in addition to the stability of PSA. The positive band of rapid PSA kit shown even with 1,000,000-fold diluted semen, which was at least 100 timed higher than qualitative one step semen inspection forensic rapid test kit. PSA was detected in urine from normal male adult, however, it was not detected in urine from young boys and female body fluids. It was shown that PSA was very stable to resist boiling for 20 minutes and the effect of bacteria. In crime scene investigation, rapid PSA kit is expected to help to identify semen easily in the evidences.

• The Korean Journal of Urological Oncology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.103-109
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• 2018

Purpose: We evaluated the relationship of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and obesity indices (weight, body mass index [BMI] and waist circumference [WC]) in Korean middle-aged men. Materials and Methods: From February to September 2013, 1,900 police men under 60 years old who participated in a prostate health screening program were included this cross-sectional study. All subjects underwent clinical examinations including weight, height, BMI, WC, fasting blood sugar, lipid profiles, estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and PSA. Total prostate volume (TPV) was assessed clinically. Spearman correlation and multiple linear regression tests were performed to evaluate the obesity indices and PSA relationships. Results: The mean age was $52.0{\pm}4.7years$, and the mean PSA was $0.97{\pm}0.99ng/mL$. The PSA showed a significant positive correlation with the age (r=0.108, p<0.01), TPV (r=0.349, p<0.01), height (r=-0.052, p<0.05), weight (r=0.186, p<0.05), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=0.056, p<0.05), and GFR (r=-0.096, p<0.01). All obesity indices including weight, BMI, and WC showed negative correlations with PSA (beta=-0.013, p<0.001; beta=-0.039, p<0.001; and beta=-0.010, p=0.005; respectively) in age and TPV-adjusted model. Conclusions: Common obesity indices (weight, BMI, and WC) were associated with lower PSA in Korean middle-aged population. Thus, an individual's degree of obesity should be considered when PSA is checked in the first prostate cancer screening of life.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5695-5699
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• 2012

We investigated the relationships between demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and serum total prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentration and examined the population-based distribution of total PSA by age among 2,246 Korean men with a median age of 45 years. We obtained data about demographic and lifestyle characteristics based on self-reporting using a quetionnaire. We also performed physical examinations, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical measurements. The PSA concentration increased with age and there was a significant difference in total PSA concentration between the age groups of 21-60 years and >60 years. Age >60 years, height ${\geq}1.8$ m, a low frequency of alcohol consumption, and taking nutritional supplements showed a significantly increased odds ratio for increased PSA when 3.0 ng/mL was chosen as the PSA cut-off level. Smoking status, BMI, percent body fat, diabetes mellitus, fatty liver, herbal medicine use, vitamin use, and diet were not significantly associated with total PSA regardless of the cut-off level. When interpreting a single PSA test, height, alcohol consumption, and nutritional supplement use should be considered, in addition to age.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.81-88
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this report is to find out how Mountain Ginseng Pharmacopuncture(MGP) and Sweet Bee Venom(SBV) treatments are effective on prostate cancer patients by monitoring Prostate specific antigen(PSA) values. Methods: We treated two prostate cancer patients with MGP and SBV from October 2008 to April 2011. One patient had localized prostate cancer, the other was in the terminal stage of prostate cancer with lung and bone metastasis and both had been receiving western anticancer therapy. We had monitored the changes of PSA value. Results: In case 1, MGP and SBV treatments seemed to be helpful in preventing the recurrence of localized prostate cancer. In case 2, PSA value was decreased by MGP treatment. Conclusions: It is conceivable that MGP and SBV are effective treatments for patients with prostate cancer.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.191-197
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• 2004

Background: This study was performed to reconsider the efficacy of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) in diagnosing prostate cancer by analyzing the results of a digital rectal examination (DRE), serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and a transrectal ultrasonography in patients with prostate specific antigen levels of 10 ng/ml or less. Materials and Methods: One-hundred and eighty one men with PSA levels of 10 ng/ml or less, who had a TRUS-guided tissue biopsy performed, were included in this study. The detection rate of prostate cancer was compared according to the TRUS result and the presence or absence of nodularity and the consistency of the prostate on DRE. Results: In a total 181 patients, there were 73 patients with PSA levels of 4 ng/ml or less and 4 of them had prostate cancer. Thre were 108 patients with PSA levels of 4-10 ng/ml and 18 of them were prostate cancer. TRUS was performed in 152 patients and 16 out of 58 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer, 3 out of 39 diagnosed with suspicious prostate cancer, and 2 out of 55 patients diagnosed as having no prostate cancer were found to have prostate cancer. In 40 patients, a nodule was palpated on DRE and 8 of them were found to have prostate cancer. Five out of 19 patients with a stony hard consistency, 3 of 12 with a firm to hard consisency, 12 of 129 with a firm consistency, 0 of 13 with a soft to firm consistency, and 2 of 8 with a soft consistency were prostate cancer. In the prostate cancer patients, there were 4 patients with PSA levels of 4 ng/ml or less and all these patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer or suspicious prostate cancer on TRUS but the nodule was not palpated in all patients. Two were soft and 2 were firm consistency on DRE. Conclusion: In patients with serum PSA levels of 10 ng/ml or less, TRUS is a more useful supporting method than DRE and a more active application of TRUS may lead to an early diagnosis and pertinent treatment of prostate cancer.