The role of ultrasound in prostate cancer detection in patients with an elevated prostate specific antigen level but no prostatic nodule.

An increased level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood is a relatively sensitive indicator of prostate disease; a significant minority of men with increased PSA will have prostate carcinoma. A total of 736 men with a PSA elevation of greater than 4.2 without a rectally palpable prostate mass were evaluated with transrectal ultrasound at the Ultrasound Institute of Baltimore over a three-year period. Transrectal biopsy under ultrasound control was performed when a localized mass was seen on ultrasound or the prostate was small and the PSA level significantly elevated (93% of the series underwent biopsy). There was a positive biopsy yield for cancer of 38.5% in the cases biopsied. This high positive yield was achieved by combining high quality ultrasound with two to three samples from a visible mass and random samples from other sites.