Abstract

BLANES, M; VELAZQUEZ, G  and  CABRAL, M. Reference values of prostate specific antigen. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2005, vol.3, n.1, pp.23-27. ISSN 1812-9528.

Development of prostate hyperplasia is an almost universal phenomenon in aging men. The PSA levels in serum are useful in the clinical evaluation in men over the age of 45. The objective of this study was to establish the reference values of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in serum in a selected Paraguayan population by microparticle enzimoimmunoassay MEIA. Six hundred eighteen people were evaluated with ages ranging from 40 to 69 years old who attended to “Laboratory Medical Center” in Asunción, Paraguay during 1999-2001. All were subjected to digital rectal examination, biopsy and echograph to assure the prostate disease free state. The International Federation of Chemical Chemistry (IFCC) reference value guidelines were used for individual selection. PSA concentrations were determined by microparticle enzimoimmunoassay (Autoanalyzer IMXABBOT/USA). The PSA concentration was presented as percentiles since neither the values nor the logarithms fitted into a normal distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test). Therefore, a nonparametric test (Kruskal-Wallis) was used for the estimation of differences between datum groups. According to age, our data showed statistical differences (p<0,0001). At increasing levels of PSA: 40 - 49 years old the serum value ranged from 0.25 - 2.0 ng/mL, 50 - 59 years old from 0.64 to 3.24 ng/mL and 60 - 69 from 0.54 to 3.7 ng/mL. These data represented the percentiles 2.5% and 97.5%. These PSA reference values will serve in screening programs as tools to detect prostate diseases in our population.

Keywords : Tumour markers; Prostate specific antigen.

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