Clinical relevance of transurethral resection of the prostate in "asymptomatic" patients with an elevated prostate-specific antigen level

OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical relevance of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in patients with minor lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) but elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. METHODS: We retrospectively included 82 patients, aged 50.2-78.2 yr, with minor LUTS, elevated PSA (> or =4 ng/ml), and no signs of prostate cancer (PCa) after (multiple) negative multisite biopsies who underwent TURP after they were diagnosed by urodynamics with bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). We evaluated the clinical benefit of TURP by assessing its effect on International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and PSA and the diagnostic value of histologic examination of the resected tissue for the presence of PCa. RESULTS: After TURP, histologic analysis of the resected specimen revealed that eight patients (9.8%) had PCa; seven of these patients had a tumour that needed further treatment. The remaining 74 patients (90.2%) were diagnosed with BOO due to benign prostatic hyperplasia/benign prostatic enlargement (BPH/BPE). In this group, the mean PSA level decreased from 8.8 ng/ml before TURP to 1.1 ng/ml in the first year and 1.3 ng/ml in the second year after TURP; the mean IPSS decreased from 8.8 to 1.5 in the first year after TURP. CONCLUSIONS: The current data suggest that patients with minor LUTS and elevated PSA without evidence of PCa are very likely to have BOO due to BPH/BPE and may benefit from TURP if obstruction is proved. However, a prospective trial is warranted to assess the impact of these results on clinical practice.