Race,
Family History, or Baseline
Prostate-Specific Antigen: Which is more
Indicative of Prostate Cancer risk?
Newswise — African-American men with family
histories of prostate cancer could benefit
from a baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
reading to determine their probability of
developing the disease.
Researchers from Northwestern University in
Chicago say this new perspective on testing
could lead to highly individualized
screening protocols based on a man’s
baseline level and how it relates to
established age-specific medians.
According to new data presented today during
the Annual Scientific Meeting of the
American Urological Association (AUA) in
Orlando, African-American men with known
prostate cancer risk factors with baseline
levels higher than the age-specific median
are more likely to develop the disease in
their lifetimes than the general population.
However, African-American men with a family
history were unlikely to develop prostate
cancer if their baseline PSA level was below
the age-specific median. The effect of the
baseline PSA level on future prostate cancer
risk was so robust that the correlation held
true even for men with other significant
risk factors.
The study was presented to the media during
a special press conference on May 18, 2008
at 12:00 p.m.
Using a study cohort drawn from a
longitudinal screening study enrolling more
than 26,000 volunteers between 1991 and
2001, researchers analyzed a group of 329
African-American men with a family history
of prostate cancer.
The volunteers were divided into three
groups by ages: 40s, 50s and 60+ with a mean
follow-up time of 19.5, 71 and 81 months,
respectively. None of the men in their 40s
or 50s with both risk factors and a baseline
PSA below the median were diagnosed with
prostate cancer.
Eight percent of men in their 40s with both
risk factors and a PSA above the median were
diagnosed, as were 16 percent of men in
their 50s. Twice as many men in their 60s
with both risk factors and a baseline PSA
above the median were diagnosed with
prostate cancer.
Mondo DM, Roehl KA, Loeb S, Gashti SN,
Griffin CR, Smith ND et al: Which is the
most important risk factor for prostate
cancer: race, family history, or baseline
PSA level? J Urol, suppl., 2008; 179: 148,
abstract 417.
About the American Urological Association
Founded in 1902 and headquartered near
Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological
Association is the pre-eminent professional
organization for urologists, with more than
15,000 members throughout the world.
An educational nonprofit organization, the
AUA pursues its mission of fostering the
highest standards of urologic care by
carrying out a wide variety of programs
members and their patients, including
UrologyHealth.org, an award-winning on-line
patient education resource, and the American
Urological Association Foundation, Inc.