Prevalence of prostate cancer in end-stage renal disease patients

Aims: We aimed to assess the prevalence of prostate cancer in end-stage renal disease ( ESRD) patients by a large-scale, multicentric and prospective study, and to show the difference between ESRD patients and normal healthy subjects. Methods: The level of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was measured in 724 male ESRD patients undergoing dialysis. Those patients whose serum PSA level was over 4.0ng/ml underwent a second screening test. After diagnosis, the prevalence of prostate cancer was subsequently calculated following adjustments by logistic-regression analysis. The prevalence of prostate cancer was also assessed in three control groups who had undergone health checks. Results: The prevalence of prostate cancer in ESRD patients was found to be 1.4%. Those of the control groups ( after correction for age) were 0.4, 1.4 and 0.8%. The odds ratios were 3.49, 0.96 and 1.71. Conclusion: The prevalence of prostate cancer in ESRD patients was equal or higher compared with that of normal healthy subjects. The result strongly indicates that the use of the serum PSA assay contributes to the early detection of prostate cancer in ESRD patients. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.