Early detection of prostate cancer in Syria using T.PSA and F.PSA

The aim of the current study is performing an initial prostate cancer screening test using PSA and F PSA tumour markers. A total of 3000 men in 40-75 years of age were participated in this study. Demographic and clinical data for subjects were collected by the programme staff. Total PSA and free PSA assays were determined using the ImunoTech total and free PSA assay kits, based on IRMA technique (kindly provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency). Criteria for participating in this study included : 1) men of age 50-75 (men of age as low as 40 were included in case of positive family history). 2) No previous history of prostate cancer. The following parameters were followed to refer the suspicious cases to a specialized hospital specific tests: 1)PSA>3 ng/ml . 2)High PSA value according to the participant age group. 3) Low F/TPSA ratio. In the hospital the following tests were performed:1) Complete clinical exam including DRE.2)TRUS in some cases.3) Biopsy for highly suspicious cases. 4)The low suspicious cases were retested in six months. Out of 338 cases referred to a specialized hospital, 264 cases were shown prostatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH),while 36 cases proved to be prostatic cancer. However, the contact was lost in 36 cases because of changing the phone number or travelling outside the country . The detection rate of prostate cancer among all participating cases in this study was 1.2%, while this ratio was 10.7% among the referred cases. F/TPSA ratio has shown a good ability to discriminate between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. (author)