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As longevity has improved and mortality from cardiovascular and other diseases has declined, the risk of death from prostate cancer has increased steadily. Though slow growing, prostate cancer is not a benign disease. Nearly 10% of men in Western countries will be diagnosed with prostate cancer sometime during their life and 3% will die of the disease. The prospects for long-term control of prostate cancer diminish rapidly once the cancer has spread beyond the immediate periprostatic tissue. The 5-year survival rate for men with metastases is less than 30% and almost all will eventually die of their disease. A simple blood test, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is available. This test, when used in conjunction with ultrasound-guided systematic needle biopsy of the prostate, will detect potentially lethal prostate cancers earlier than digital rectal examination (DRE). Definitive treatment, especially with radical prostatectomy, can eradicate the tumor in 90% of patients if the cancer is still confined to the prostate pathologically, regardless of the tumor grade. Randomized, prospective clinical trials are now underway to demonstrate conclusively whether screening or early definitive therapy will substantially reduce the mortality rate from this disease. Until the results of these trials are available, we recommend that healthy men over age 50, who have a life expectancy of 10 years or longer, have an annual PSA and DRE to detect prostate cancer while it is still curable.

In an attempt to enhance the success of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the diagnosis and staging of prostate carcinoma (PCa) the concept of PSA density (PSAD) has been introduced by Benson et al. Likewise a study to investigate the role of PSAD in 53 patients with PCa and 47 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been done. PSADs seemed to increase directly proportional to the grade in PCa and differed significantly between patient groups with BPH and localized+metastatic PCa, BPH and localized PCa, and localized PCa and metastatic PCa. Although 0.6 level for PSAD seemed to be a rational cut-off level in our study, this issue needs to be studied in multiple centers involving an increased number of patients for resolution.

Introduction and Objectives: Transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy is an essential part in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Although this procedure is well tolerated by most patients, sometimes it can result in some uneasiness. In this randomised double-blind placebo controlled study, we evaluated the effectiveness of intrarectal lidocaine during TRUS guided biopsy. Materials and Methods: 100 consecutive eligible patients who had elevated total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and/or abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) were included into this study. Patients were randomised into two groups. Group I received 20 cc of 2% intrarectal lidocaine 20 minutes before transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy and Group II received same amount of serum physiologic. Pain was assessed using a 10 point modified visual analog scale. Results: Mean patient age was 65.5±2.5 and 64.5±11.5 years, mean tPSA was 12.3±3.6 and 11.3±1.7 ng/ml, mean biopsy duration was 6.8±2.5 and 6.6±2.2 minutes, mean pain score during transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy was 4.8±2.2 and 4.4±2.1 in Groups I and II, respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed with respect to age, tPSA, mean biopsy duration and pain score between these groups. There was only one patient who could not tolerate the procedure at all, and he was paradoxically in the lidocaine group. Conclusion: The use of intrarectal lidocaine is not superior to placebo during transrectal prostate biopsy for pain control.