Determination of the percentage of free prostate-specific antigen helps toavoid unnecessary biopsies in men with normal rectal examinations and total prostate-specific antigen of 4-10 ng/ml

Objective: To assess the usefulness of measuring the percentage of free pro state-specific antigen (PSA) in serum to reduce the number of prostate biop sies in men with serum PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/ml and benign prostat e examinations. Materials and Methods: The percentage of free PSA (Immulite(R)) in serum wa s analyzed prospectively in 180 men with benign digital rectal examinations and total PSA serum levels of between 4 and 10 ng/ml. All patients underwe nt ultrasound-guided sextant prostatic biopsies, Sensitivity, specificity a nd positive and negative predictive values were calculated as well as the p ercent of patients in which biopsies could have been avoided for various cu toff values of the percentage of free PSA as an indicator for biopsy. Influ ence of age in the determination of cut points was evaluated. Results: Cancer was detected in 22.2% (40/180) of the patients. Mean percen tage of free PSA was 13.4% in patients with cancer and 18.9% in patients wi th benign prostatic hyperplasia (p = 0.001). Using a percentage of free PSA cutoff of 22% or less as a criterion for performing prostatic biopsy would have detected 95% of cancers, avoided 25% of benign biopsies and yielded a positive predictive value of 29% in patients who underwent biopsy. Mean pe rcent of free PSA values increased as mean subject age increased, influenci ng the calculation of cut points, sensitivity and specificity. Leaving the cut point constant across all age groups will oblige older patients to unde rgo an increased number of unnecessary biopsies, although allowing for high er sensitivity in younger men. Conclusions: Measurement of the percentage of free serum PSA improves speci ficity of prostate cancer detection in patients with elevated total serum P SA levels and benign prostate examinations. Subject age seemed to influence the determination of optimal cut points. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG. Basel.