MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cross sectional study looked at prostate cancer patients seen in the Urology Departments in 2 tertiary centres over the 11 year period starting from January 2000 to May 2011. Patient demographic data, levels of PSA at diagnosis, Gleason score for the biopsy core, T-staging as well as the lymph node status were recorded and analysed.
RESULTS: 258 men were included. The mean age of those 90 men (34.9%) with bone metastasis was 69.2 ± 7.3 years. Logistic regression found that PSA level (P=0.000) at diagnosis and patient's nodal-stage (P=0.02) were the only two independent variables able to predict the probability of bone metastasis among the newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Among those with a low PSA level less than 20 ng/ml, and less than 10 ng/ml, bone metastasis were detected in 10.3% (12 out of 117) and 9.7% (7 out of 72), respectively. However, by combining PSA level of 10 ng/ml or lower, and nodal negative as the two criteria to predict negative bone scan, a relatively high negative predictive value of 93.8% was obtained. The probability of bone metastasis in prostate cancer can be calculated with this formula: -1.069+0.007(PSA value, ng/ml) +1.021(Nodal status, 0 or 1)=x Probability of bone metastasis=2.718 x/1+2.718 x.
CONCLUSION: Newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients with a PSA level of 10 ng/ml or lower and negative nodes have a very low risk of bone metastasis (negative predictive value 93.8%) and therefore bone scans may not be necessary.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with haematuria and/or past history of urothelial cancer on follow-up had their voided urine tested with FISH. Patients then underwent cystoscopy/ ureteroscopy and any lesions seen were biopsied. The histopathological reports of the bladder or ureteroscopic mucosal biopsies were then compared with the FISH test results.
RESULTS: Two hundred sixty patients were recruited. The sensitivity and specificity of the FISH test was 89.2% and 83.4% respectively. The positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were 47.1% and 97.9%. By excluding patients who had positive deletion of chromosome 9, the overall results of the screening test improved: sensitivity 84.6%; specificity 96.4%; PPV 75.9% and NPV 97.9%.
CONCLUSIONS: UroVysion FISH has a high specificity of detecting urothelial cancer or dysplasia when deletion of chromosome 9 is excluded. Negative UroVysion FISH-tests may allow us to conserve health resources and minimize trauma by deferring cystoscopic or ureteroscopic examination.
METHODS: The Singapore Prostate Cancer Study is a hospital-based case-control study of 240 prostate cancer incident cases and 268 controls conducted in Singapore between April 2007 and May 2009. Detailed information on outdoor activities in the sun, skin colour, sun sensitivity and other possible risk factors were collected in personal interviews. Cases were further classified by Gleason scores and TNM staging. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, ethnicity, education, family history of any cancers, BMI and skin colour.
RESULTS: We found that prostate cancer risk was increased in subjects with black/dark-brown eyes (OR 5.88, 95%CI 3.17-10.9), darker skin colour e.g. tan/dark brown/black (OR 7.62, 95%CI 3.41-17.0), frequent sunburn in lifetime (OR 4.30, 95%CI 1.7-11.2) and increased general sun exposure in adulthood per week (OR 2.03, 95%CI 1.09-3.81). The increased risk was consistent for high grade tumours and advanced stage prostate cancers.
CONCLUSION: The findings from this study suggest that excessive sun exposure is a risk factor for prostate cancer in Asians.