Journal List > Korean J Urol > v.47(6) > 1069909

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Jeon, Kim, Kang, Nam, Kim, Seong, Kim, Cheon, Cho, Cho, Hong, and Choi: Age-Specific Reference Ranges for Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen in Korean Men
Original Article
Korean Journal of Urology

Korean Journal of Urology 2006; 47(6): 586-590.

Published online: 30 June 2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4111/kju.2006.47.6.586

Age-Specific Reference Ranges for Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen in Korean Men

Hyung Jin Jeon, Young Sik Kim1, Dae Ryeong Kang2, Chung Mo Nam2, Chun Il Kim3, Do Hwan Seong4, Se Joong Kim5, Sang Hyeon Cheon6, In Rae Cho7, Jin Seon Cho8, Sung Joon Hong, Young Deuk Choi

Department of Urology & Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

1Department of Urology, Ilsan Hospital, National Health Insurance Corporation, Ilsan, Korea.

2Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

3Department of Urology, College of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.

4Department of Urology, Inha University, Incheon, Korea.

5Department of Urology, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea.

6Department of Urology, Ulsan University, Ulsan, Korea.

7Department of Urology, Inje University, Busan, Korea.

8Department of Urology, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea.

Corresponding author (ydchoi@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr)

Received 11 January 2006       Accepted 3 April 2006

Copyright © 2006 The Korean Urological Association

Abstract

Purpose

The level of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) varies according to both age and race. It is known that the level of PSA increases with age, and that Asians have a lower incidence of prostate cancer and levels of PSA than Caucasians. In this study, the variation in the serum PSA level in samples collected from general populations were used to find an actual standard age-specific PSA reference range for Koreans.

Materials and Methods

Patients who received serum PSA level check-ups, between November 1998 and July 2005, at 8 domestic hospitals, were selected for the investigation. The PSA levels of 120,439 adult males, aged between 30 and 80 years, were measured, and those lower than 10ng/ml were analyzed. To estimate the increase in the level of serum PSA according to age, a simple linear regression analysis was carried out.

Results

The mean PSA level reference ranges according to age were 1.88, 1.92, 2.37, 3.56 and 5.19ng/ml for those in their thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and seventies, respectively. The rates of PSA change were 0.0023, 0.0175 and 0.0499 for those in their forties, fifties and sixties, respectively, indicating the rates of PSA level change increase steady with age, but these increases are greater for those in their fifties and most severe after their sixties. The level of age-specific PSA reference in Korean men was lower than that of men from Western countries.

Conclusions

The age-specific PSA reference levels, as found in pre-existing literature, showed differences between races, with the overall reference levels being low for domestic data. The standard reference level of age-specific PSA for the screening of prostate cancer may be lower in Korean men than those from Western countries.

Keywords: Prostate-specific antigen, Age groups, Screening, Reference range

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
Regression curve between age and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
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Table 1
Serum PSA (ng/ml) according to age
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PSA: prostate-specific antigen

Table 2
Comparison of age-specific PSA (ng/ml) reference ranges
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PSA: prostate-specific antigen, *: 95 percentile

Table 3
PSA regression formula for each age group
kju-47-586-i003

AgeDx: age at diagnosis

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