Prostate-Specific Antigen versus Digital Rectal Examination in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous cancer and the third most common cause of death from cancer in males in the US. An increasing life expectancy in male population and increasing use of prostatespecific antigen (PSA) for early detection of the disease are probably the two main factors accounting for higher detection rate. The DRE is still the basis in the suspicion of Carcinoma prostate in males with normal or minimally high PSA levels. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of PSA versus DRE in detecting cases of Carcinoma prostate among men presenting with symptoms of bladder outflow obstruction. This study was conducted over a period of 2 years. The patients included in this study were those presented with LUTS, All study subjects were clinically assessed and thoroughly examined. A total of 400 men aged 50 years and over with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were selected. The ability of PSA to identify Carcinoma prostate can be improved by selecting out groups of patients and by adjusting the cut-off level of PSA to the patients under study, the normal range of this test should be adjusted according to the population under study. DRE and serum PSA provides a good discrimination between patients with and without Carcinoma prostate.