Adenocarcinoma of the prostate: Correlation between serum prostate-specific antigen and Gleason grade group

Abstract

Introduction: Serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) concentration determination has established itself as the leading tool in screening for, as well as in estimating the prognosis of, adenocarcinoma of the prostate. This prognostication is usually done in conjunction with the Gleason score and other prognostic indices. The aim of this study was to determine the association between serum PSA concentration and the new (2016 modified) Gleason grade group of tumor among patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Study Design: A retrospective, analytic study. Study Setting: Department of Pathology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. Study Period: January 2006 to December 2013. Materials and Methods: A total of 211 patients with biopsy-based diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the prostate were studied. Each of the cases was graded using the (2016 modified) Gleason grading system. Prebiopsy serum PSA concentration in each of the patients was retrieved from either the patient's case records in the Urology Unit of the hospital or from the values filled in by the requesting surgeon. Gleason grade groups of patients were correlated with serum PSA concentration. Results: Gleason grade group 1 was most common in our study with 68 (32.2%) of our patients falling within that category. The study revealed a statistically significant relationship between the serum PSA concentration and the Gleason grade group of cancer (P = 0.00). Conclusion: This study concluded that the serum PSA concentration has a statistically significant association with the Gleason grade group of the tumor in prostatic adenocarcinoma patients. Therefore, patients with high serum PSA concentrations are likely to have high tumor grade group.