The influence of prostate volume on cancer detection in the Chinese population

In western populations, prostate volume (PV) has been proven to be one of the strongest predictors of detecting prostate cancer (PCa) in biopsies. We performed this study in a biopsy cohort, to evaluate associations among the prostate volume, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PCa detection in the Chinese population. Between the years, 2007–13, 1486 men underwent prostate biopsy at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. The study population was divided into two groups for analysis according to total PSA (tPSA) range (4 ng ml(−1) < tPSA ≤20 ng ml(−1) and tPSA > 20 ng ml(−1)). PV, age, tPSA, digital rectal examination (DRE) and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) results were also included in the analysis. Although the positive biopsy rates decreased in both tPSA range groups, the downtrend was more pronounced in the 4 ng ml(−1) < tPSA ≤20 ng ml(−1) group; therefore, we focused on 853 men in this group with increasing PV. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only DRE was found to be associated with PCa in four PV groups (P < 0.05) and tPSA did not show a good predictive ability when PV exceeded 50 ml (P > 0.05). Further, it may suggest that with increasing PV, the cancer detection rate decreased in men with different tPSA, DRE and TRUS nodule statuses (all P values for trends were <0.001). Our study indicates that in tPSA ranging from 4 to 20 ng ml(−1), the use of PV ranges of 0–35 ml, 35–50 ml and > 50 ml might be taken into consideration for the biopsy decision-making in the Chinese population.