Is prostate-specific antigen a reliable marker for uterine leiomyoma detection?

BACKGROUND

Now it is accepted that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is expressed extra prostatically and it is clear that many hormonally regulated female tissues show detectable PSA levels. This study was conducted due to differences of view between researchers about the role of PSA in some women diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical implication of serum PSA measurement in diagnosis or management of patients with uterine myoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a case-control study. A total of 224 patients included in this study. Serum specimens were isolated and were stored at -70°C until all specimens were completed. Wilcoxon's rank-sum test was used to identify statistically significant differences between the total PSA and free PSA measurements in patient groups.

RESULTS

We noticed that there is no statistical significant correlation between total or free serum PSA level of cases with uterine myoma and control group (P = 0.433 and 0.700, respectively). Furthermore, no statistical difference was considered either in size or frequency of leiomyomas and free or total serum PSA (P = 0.126 and 0.433 and P = 0.997 and 0.442, respectively).

CONCLUSION

We concluded that serum PSA measurement has little clinical utility in diagnosis or management of uterine leiomyoma.