The role of prostate-specific antigen in light of new scientific evidence

Abstract

Objective: Review the scientific evidence acquired in recent years on Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).

Acquisition of evidence: Analysis of the available evidence on the current role of PSA, according to a panel of experts who recorded their experience on the subject.

Summary of the evidence: Currently, PSA cannot be considered solely an indicator of the presence or absence of prostate cancer. Rather, the determination of PSA assists the urologist in indicating the most appropriate treatment for a patient with benign prostatic hypertrophic (BPH), as well as in suspecting a prostatic tumour when the PSA reading increases >0,3 ng/ml, in patients treated with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, over the reading achieved at six months of having initiated this treatment. Moreover, PSA is a key factor in the follow-up of patients with prostate adenocarcinoma who undergo surgery, radiation therapy or minimally invasive techniques. PSA helps to define biochemical recurrence, suggest the existence of a local or distal recurrence and propose or rule out adjuvant therapies.

Conclusions: New data on the current role of PSA in the management of patients treated for BPH and/or prostate cancer should be taken into account.