Performance of PSA in early detection of prostate cancer in Western Algeria

Prostate cancer (PC) is detected late in 80% of cases at an advanced stage. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) allows early detection of PC. This study was carried out in 2 years in the urology department at the hospital in Saida. PSA assay was performed in 92 cases and 70 controls. The objective of this study is to compare total PSA (TPSA) rates between the two groups and to assess the characteristics of the PSA. The average age of PC diagnosis is 71.63 years. The median TPSA among cases and controls was respectively 17.45 and 3.5 ng/mL. About 60% of all patients have a TPSA greater than 4 ng/mL. This marker, among cases, was high (36.98 ng/mL) for the age group of 70-79 years. In controls, TPSA did not exceed 6 ng/mL. The sensitivity and specificity were good during this study. At TPSA greater than 4.1 ng/mL, they were respectively 78 and 62%. At TPSA greater than 6 ng/mL, the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 43.12, reflecting good performance test assay. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.