Significance of the prostate central gland and total gland volume ratio in the diagnosis of prostate cancer patients in the prostate specific antigen grey zone

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of the prostate central gland to total gland volume ratio (PVc/PV) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) in patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in the grey zone (4–10 ng/ml). METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled patients that had undergone prostate biopsy. The volume of the prostate and the central prostate gland were measured. The differences in PSA, the ratio of free to total PSA (f/tPSA), PSA density (PSAD) and PVc/PV between the PCa and non-PCa groups were compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for PCa and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) diagnosis were calculated according to PSA (reference), f/tPSA, PSAD and PVc/PV. RESULTS: This study enrolled 136 patients. There was no significant difference in PSA and f/tPSA between the PCa and non-PCa groups, while there were significant differences in PSAD and PVc/PV. The area under the curve values of PVc/PV for PCa or csPCa diagnosis were 0.876 and 0.933, respectively; and for PSAD, they were 0.705 and 0.790, respectively. These were significantly different compared with the PSA curve, whereas f/tPSA showed no significant difference from the PSA curve. CONCLUSION: PVc/PV could be a predictor of PCa when PSA is between 4–10 ng/ml.