The Clinical Potential of Pretreatment Serum Testosterone Level to Improve the Efficiency of Prostate Cancer Screening

Abstract Objectives The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical value of the pretreatment serum testosterone (T) level as a potential predictor of prostate cancer risk in screening for prostate cancer. Materials and methods The subjects were 420 patients suspected of having prostate cancer who underwent prostate biopsy, and whose pretreatment T levels were recorded. We checked for association between the presence of prostate cancer and the following clinical factors: pretreatment serum T level, age, pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, digital rectal examination findings, ratio of free to total PSA, prostate volume, and PSA density (PSAD). Results Overall, there was no significant difference in mean pretreatment T level between patients diagnosed with cancer (3.9 ± 2.4 ng/ml) and patients diagnosed with benign prostate disease (BPD; 3.7 ± 1.7 ng/ml); diagnosis was based on prostate biopsy. However, among patients with PSA