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- Title
Use of the percentage of free prostate-specific antigen to enhance differentiation of prostate cancer from benign prostatic disease: a prospective multicenter clinical trial.
- Authors
Catalona, William J.; Partin, Alan W.; Slawin, Kevin M.; Brawer, Michael K.; Flanigan, Robert C.; Patel, Anup; Richie, Jerome P.; deKernion, Jean B.; Walsh, Patrick C.; Scardino, Peter T.; Lange, Paul H.; Subong, Eric N.P.; Parson, Robert E.; Gasior, Gail H.; Loveland, Kathleen G.; Southwick, Paula C.; Catalona, W J; Partin, A W; Slawin, K M; Brawer, M K
- Abstract
<bold>Context: </bold>The percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum has been shown to enhance the specificity of PSA testing for prostate cancer detection, but earlier studies provided only preliminary cutoffs for clinical use.<bold>Objective: </bold>To develop risk assessment guidelines and a cutoff value for defining abnormal percentage of free PSA in a population of men to whom the test would be applied.<bold>Design: </bold>Prospective blinded study using the Tandem PSA and free PSA assays (Hybritech Inc, San Diego, Calif).<bold>Setting: </bold>Seven nationwide university medical centers.<bold>Participants: </bold>A total of 773 men (379 with prostate cancer, 394 with benign prostatic disease) 50 to 75 years of age with a palpably benign prostate gland, PSA level of 4.0 to 10.0 ng/mL, and histologically confirmed diagnosis.<bold>Main Outcome Measures: </bold>A percentage of free PSA cutoff that maintained 95% sensitivity for prostate cancer detection, and probability of cancer for individual patients.<bold>Results: </bold>The percentage of free PSA may be used in 2 ways: as a single cut-off (ie, perform a biopsy for all patients at or below a cutoff of 25% free PSA) or as an individual patient risk assessment (ie, base biopsy decisions on each patient's risk of cancer). The 25% free PSA cutoff detected 95% of cancers while avoiding 20% of unnecessary biopsies. The cancers associated with greater than 25% free PSA were more prevalent in older patients, and generally were less threatening in terms of tumor grade and volume. For individual patients, a lower percentage of free PSA was associated with a higher risk of cancer (range, 8%-56%). In the multivariate model used, the percentage of free PSA was an independent predictor of prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5-4.1; P < .001) and contributed significantly more than age (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.92-1.55) or total PSA level (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.92-1.11) in this cohort of subjects with total PSA values between 4.0 and 10.0 ng/mL.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Use of the percentage of free PSA can reduce unnecessary biopsies in patients undergoing evaluation for prostate cancer, with a minimal loss in sensitivity in detecting cancer. A cutoff of 25% or less free PSA is recommended for patients with PSA values between 4.0 and 10.0 ng/mL and a palpably benign gland, regardless of patient age or prostate size. To our knowledge, this study is the largest series to date evaluating the percentage of free PSA in a population representative of patients in whom the test would be used in clinical practice.
- Subjects
PROSTATE cancer risk factors; ANTIGENS
- Publication
JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998, Vol 279, Issue 19, p1542
- ISSN
0098-7484
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1001/jama.279.19.1542